The mass mortality of saigas in Kazakhstan in 2015 ( Kazakh. Abөkenderndің zhappai Kyryluy ) led to a catastrophic decrease in the saiga population in the country. By the beginning of June 2015, about 134 thousand saigas perished on the territory of three regions of the country (Kostanay, Aktyubinsk and Akmola regions), while in 2014 the total number of saigas in Kazakhstan was estimated at 256.7 thousand individuals.
Content
Scale case
The first cases of saiga death were recorded on May 11, 2015 in the Zholab area in the Amangeldy district of Kostanay region in northern Kazakhstan. Then 117 saigas were found. On May 13, a thousand dead saigas were reported [1] , by May 18 this number had increased to 10 thousand in an area of 16 hectares [2] . Then animal carcasses were discovered in the border areas of Aktobe and Akmola regions . By June 5, the total number of dead saigas was estimated at 134,352 individuals, which accounted for 62% of the Betpak-dala population [3] . In general, the global population of saiga has decreased by a third [4] .
As of June 2, 2015, a total of 132,329 saiga carcasses were disposed of: 113,309 in the Kostanay region, 9,634 in the Aktobe region and 9,386 in the Akmola region [5] . According to data for 2014, the total number of saiga in Kazakhstan reached 256.7 thousand individuals [6] .
- The rate of increase in the number of dead saigas (according to official data)
- May 11 - 117 [1]
- May 13 - 1 thousand. [1]
- May 18 - 10 thousand. [2]
- May 22 - 85 thousand. [6]
- June 2 - 132 thousand. [5]
- June 5 - 134 352 [3]
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total number of steppe antelopes in Kazakhstan in 2015 was 295,470 thousand individuals. The number of the Ural population increased by 35.8%, Ustyurt - by 49.6%, however, Betpakdalinskaya decreased by 85.1%. The result was a decrease in the total number of Red Book animals by 63.3% in 2016. In the current year, the saiga of the Betpakdala population has a total of 36,200 individuals. [7]
Investigation
Experts from various countries of the world: zoologists from the Royal Veterinary College ( Great Britain ) and the Frankfurt Zoological Society ( Germany ) were brought in to investigate the reasons for such a massive death of saiga through the mediation of the secretariat of the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species On the part of Kazakhstan, veterinarians, the Institute of Biosafety Problems, epidemiologists, environmental control specialists, the prosecutor's office, environmental police, emergency services, etc. [[ 6]
Reasons to
In the first days, when about a hundred dead saigas were discovered, according to preliminary data, the cause of the death was a strong depletion due to the dry 2014 [8] .
At the moment, Pasteurella multocida type B pathogen is the main cause of saigas' massive mortality. Perhaps, carriers of pathogenic bacteria have become mites, which at the end of April - beginning of May are found in the steppes in large numbers [9] . No signs of foot and mouth disease , nor the plague of small ruminants or sheep pox were found in the remains of saiga. The Aerospace Committee of the Ministry of Investment and Development has denied rumors that the saiga can be associated with rocket and space activities [5] . Previously, due to similar infectious diseases, in 2013, 1.5 thousand saigas died, in 2012 - 1 thousand, in 2010 - about 12 thousand. [10]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Talgat Isenov. The number of dead saigas in the Kostanay region - Ministry of Agriculture has increased to a thousand // Kazakhstanskaya Pravda. - May 13, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 In Kazakhstan, 10,000 Red Book Saigas were killed . - Lenta.ru, May 18, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 E.J. Milner-Gulland. Disaster and Hope for the Saiga in 2015 // Saiga News. - Saiga Conservation Alliance, 2015. - Vol. 19 - S. 1 .
- ↑ The catastrophic incidence of saigas in Central Asia . - UNEP , May 28, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 The government of Kazakhstan convened a meeting on the death of saigas . - Nur.kz, June 5, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 The death of a saiga on such a scale is a personal loss for all those who study and preserve it . Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan (05/26/2015). The appeal date is June 15, 2015.
- ↑ Zarina Utenova. The saiga population has decreased by more than half in Kazakhstan - news on Informburo.kz Neoprov . informburo.kz (June 14, 2016). The appeal date is June 14, 2016.
- ↑ Specialists named the cause of the mass death of saigas in the Kostanay region // Kazakhstanskaya Pravda. - May 13, 2015.
- ↑ Ruslan Idrisov, Zhanibek Dauletbek, Kanat Abildin . Exclusive: the cause of death of saigas is hemorrhagic septicemia , Khabar (08/05/2015). The appeal date is November 28, 2015.
- ↑ Rosselkhoznadzor found the cause of the mass death of saigas in Kazakhstan . - Lenta.ru , June 8, 2015.