strangebiology: strangebiology: At Least a Third of the World’s Saiga Antelopes Died this week
strangebiology:strangebiology:At Least a Third of the World’s Saiga Antelopes Died this weekDue to an unknown illness, at least 85,000 and up to 120,000 of world’s saigas have mysteriously died. Scientists are waiting on toxicology reports to determine cause of death.In the 1990′s, there were over a million saiga antelope. In 2014, the population was estimated at 260,000. They are listed as critically endangered, and have come close to extinction several times. You can read more at saiga-conservation.org. It is now confirmed that over 134,000 saiga have died.The Saiga Conservation Alliance has launched an urgent appeal for donations at their Saiga Crisis Fund. Their goal is to raise £30,000 (USD$46,680) by August 2015. You can donate here in £ or here at the Wildlife Conservation Network in USD$. Dr. E.J. Milner-Guland, chair of the Saiga Conservation Alliance, wrote in an interview with Guardian that “This money will be used to assist with the investigation and also to equip anti-poaching teams to protect those saigas that remain.” (originally published May 27 - upper section// updated June 9 (lower section) -- source link
#animal kingdom#saiga crisis#conservation#endangered animals