This is the summary of 'The Ghost of the Steppe: Saiga' from our Webzine SIILKROADIA VOL.4.NO.1. To find out more, please download the Webzine. 

Saiga which has a movable proboscis nose ends with two large nostrils now is considered endangered. Now saiga lives on the steppes and semi-desert natural areas in a range covering several countries, including Kazakhstan, Rusia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. 

Saigas live without a leader. Just together they graze, go to water, and move around the steppe. Steppe antelopes lead a wild lifestyle, and they choose locations with solids soil made of stones or clay. 

Because of their lifestyle of migrating around the area for finding food, they are susceptible to mass die-off events, and in 2015 about 200,000 Saiga antelopes perished died due to disease and extreme weather. Fortunately, the population has bounced back, especially in Kazakhstan, and to some extent also in Mongolia and Russia. And then, recently those countries agreed on a new joint conservation program to protect the saiga antelope, a unique and living legacy of the Silk Roads regions.