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February 2012 saw the centenary of the birth of Arkady Aleksandrovich Sludsky, a famous zoologist and Fellow of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. He was the founder of research into vertebrates in Kazakhstan and founded the Laboratory of Mammals in the Institute of Zoology, which he headed from 1949 to 1977. His zoological interests were quite wide, but the saiga held a very prominent place in his research.
This event launched a series of actions aimed at creating a uniform, scientifically grounded, system of specially protected areas in Russia. Between 1922, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed, and 1991 when the country disintegrated, the same system pertained in all the Soviet republics.
Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba, Wildlife Conservation Society, eshiilegdamba@wcs.org
The cause is a livestock virus known as PPR or Peste des Petits Ruminants. The disease was first detected in goats and sheep in the saiga range area in August 2016, and subsequently spilled over into the wildlife [see the articles by B. Chimeddorj & B. Buuveibaatar and R. Kock for more details].
Buyanaa Chimeddorj, WWF-Mongolia, chimeddorj@wwf.mn
Thousands of Mongolian saigas have died due to PPR and only 4961
individuals are left alive. Although the intensity of this loss has
been limited, a new challenge has emerged - local herders feel a
strong antipathy towards saigas. The poor animal had a reputation
of being the cause of pasture overgrazing and now it's blamed for
spreading this infectious disease.