Nomadic breeds: Satellite surveillance will help protect saigas from biker shepherds

For the first time, Russian ecologists began studying saiga migration using satellite data. Today, animals in the steppe are experiencing significant anthropogenic impact due to active animal husbandry. At the same time, modern shepherds have switched from horses to motorcycles: they can be seen and heard for many kilometers, which scares saigas and forces them to leave their usual habitats. The collected data will help determine which territories are most comfortable for animals and establish safe routes for their movement. According to experts, maintaining the abundance of the Red book species is fundamentally important for the entire steppe ecosystem, which the breeders themselves are interested in preserving.

Saiga watching

For the first time in Russia, specialists from the Kalmyk reserve "Chernye Zemly" have launched a project on satellite monitoring of saigas. During the watering, they put electronic collars on the artiodactyls. The devices have already started collecting and transmitting data. Thanks to the information gathered, scientists will be able to identify areas suitable for animal habitat. Similar studies were conducted in Soviet times, but over the years the steppe has changed a lot, as well as increased anthropogenic impact.

— With the help of collars, we will find out the modern migration routes of saigas, which areas they avoid and which they prefer. And also find out why. We need to understand how many suitable habitats these animals have. There are many more livestock camps in the steppe. And shepherds switched from horses to motorcycles and cars. This creates a strong anxiety factor for saigas," Bataar Ubushaev, director of the reserve, told "Izvestia".

Or maybe cows: they planned to create a park of ancient animals on the Commander Islands

Will Russian scientists be able to populate it with clones of extinct species?

One livestock point is located 4-5 km away from the other. For the steppe, this is very small: objects remain within sight, which is why animals do not feel safe and leave such territories. It is important for scientists to determine how many areas in the steppe are still suitable for comfortable saiga habitat. This will allow us to calculate the total area of their range and the optimal population size in the Northwestern Caspian region. Based on the data obtained, dangerous areas will also be identified, where, for example, saigas cross federal and regional highways. In the future, it will be possible to equip special passages for animals there.

Today, the population is growing. The minimum figure was recorded in 2015, when there were only 3.5–4 thousand animals. According to experts, their number now reaches 60 thousand. However, this is still not enough, and the species needs additional protection, the reserve said. The equipment will transmit data for four years. Since there are few collars yet, the information received will be processed manually. In the future, when its volume increases, experts plan to introduce AI for analysis.

Conservation of the steppe ecosystem

Saiga antelope trapping was carried out using a minimally invasive method, without the classic motorcycle enclosure. The animals were caught directly near the water: most of them were caught with a wide—mesh nylon net, the rest with special loops and manually. The entire procedure from capture to release took no more than four minutes. Not a single individual was injured. In two weeks of work, 23 adult saiga antlers were tagged.

Maintaining saiga numbers is critically important for the preservation of the entire steppe ecosystem, said Igor Shkradyuk, coordinator of the industrial greening program at the Wildlife Conservation Center. If the animals eat enough grass, then the dry layer does not lead to fires.

— Livestock competes with saigas in this, their activity is regulated not by nature, but by economics. There are few domestic species there — sheep, cows, and sometimes camels. But more species involved in the natural cycle are needed to stabilize the environment. It is in the interests of the shepherds themselves to maintain the saiga population. At the same time, they also need to maximize their livestock, so it is necessary to allocate territories where saigas are comfortable and where they will be protected. Animals roam, and it is difficult to determine the boundaries of these areas. That's what a special study is for," he said.

The saiga is a relict species that survived the age of mammoths and saber—toothed tigers, the Ice Age and mass extinctions. Today, in 2026, when Russia is on the verge of reviewing the conservation status of the largest populations of this animal, the question of its role in the steppe ecosystem is gaining new importance, said Tatiana Ledashcheva, associate professor at the Department of Environmental Safety and Product Quality Management at the Patrice Lumumba Institute of Ecology of the Rudn University. Satellite monitoring allows you to accurately determine the migration routes of saigas. Since these animals are kept in herds, even a relatively small number of sensors are sufficient to track the movement of large groups.

— In the ecosystem of dry steppes and semi-deserts, it performs functions that cannot be overestimated. The saiga is a large herd ungulate that forms the appearance of plant communities during grazing and migration," said Vladimir Pinaev, a member of the Public Council of the Basic Organization of the CIS Member States for Environmental Education.

According to him, by eating more than 60 plant species out of 390 vascular species growing in the steppes, the saiga selectively affects the vegetation cover, preventing individual species from dominating and maintaining the mosaic and biodiversity of pastures.