An antelope of the Central Asian steppes with a swollen, downward-pointing nose. It migrates in huge herds across Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. Hunting for its horns and mass die-offs cut numbers by 95%, but it has since made a remarkable recovery.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Hunted for meat, which is compared to lamb; hunting reopened in Kazakhstan in 2025.
At a glance
Found inAsia, Europe
HabitatGrassland, Desert
ColoursTan, White
SizeMedium
Length100–140 cm (head and body)
Height61–81 cm at the shoulder
Weight26–69 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for6–12 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Steppes of Kazakhstan and Russia's Kalmykia and Astrakhan regions, wintering into Uzbekistan, plus western Mongolia.
- What it eats
- Many steppe plants, including some that are poisonous to other animals.
Did you know
Its herds crashed by 95%, then recovered to millions: one of conservation's great comebacks.
In May 2015 over 120,000 died within weeks, killed by a normally harmless bacterium, probably triggered by warm, wet weather.
Kazakhstan's saigas grew from about 21,000 in 2003 to an estimated 3.9 million adults in 2025.
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