Saving Central Asia’s Ice Age Antelope

拯救古老的中亚赛加羚羊

 

The saiga antelope has been around since the Ice Age, but poaching, habitat loss and mass die-offs had been catastrophic until conservation across Central Asia started working

赛加羚羊自冰河时代以来就生活在地球上。但是在中亚各地的保护工作开始之前，偷猎、栖息地丧失和大规模死亡都给这个种群带来了毁灭性打击

 

Saiga antelope once migrated alongside woolly rhinos and mammoths across vast territories from the British Isles to Alaska. Between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago they were widespread in the northern hemisphere. Now the species’ range is mainly confined to the grasslands and deserts of Kazakhstan, and parts of Uzbekistan, Russia and Mongolia.

 

赛加羚羊曾经和披毛犀、猛犸象一样，在不列颠群岛到阿拉斯加之间的广袤大地上迁徙生存。大约4.5万年至1万年前，赛加羚羊曾广泛分布于北半球。而如今，其活动范围主要集中在哈萨克斯坦的草原和沙漠地区，以及乌兹别克斯坦、俄罗斯和蒙古的部分地区。

 

Known for its trunk-like nose, the saiga is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Most people, however, only heard of it in May 2015, when more than 200,000 suddenly and mysteriously died in three weeks in Betpak-Dala, central Kazakhstan.By 2018, the number of adult saiga was around 125,000, down from over 1 million in the 1990s.

 

赛加羚羊拥有高高隆起的标志性鼻梁，已被国际自然保护联盟（International Union for Conservation of Nature，简称IUCN）列为极度濒危物种。2015年5月，在哈萨克斯坦中部的别特帕克达拉草原地区，20多万头赛加羚羊在短短三周时间内因不明原因突然死亡。也就是在那个时候，不少人才头一次听说了这种动物。到2018年，成年赛加羚羊的数量已经从上世纪九十年代的一百多万只锐减到了12.5万只。

 

Signs of recovery

复苏的迹象

 

Conservationists report that the saiga populations in Kazakhstan and Russia doubled in 2019, to an estimated 300,000 individuals. This is predicted to reach 500,000 in the next two years.

 

环保人士报告称，哈萨克斯坦和俄罗斯境内的赛加羚羊数量在2019年翻了一番，估计达到30万只，未来两年内有望达到50万只。

 

Munib Khanyari, a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation, said the saiga’s recent recovery “is largely due to the amazing effort of NGOs such as Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, government authorities like Okhotzooprom [the agency that protects Kazakhstan’s wildlife], and park rangers, who build awareness, conduct patrols and limit poaching activities. This is not to say poaching doesn’t exist – it does and is always being considered in conservation plans.”

 

牛津大学跨学科保护中心研究员穆尼·卡尼亚里（Munib Khanyari）表示，近来赛加羚羊种群数量的恢复“主要归功于哈萨克斯坦生物多样性保护协会、政府机构（例如哈萨克斯坦野生动物保护专门机构Okhotzooprom）和护林员的努力，是他们提高了民众对动物保护的认知，开展了大规模巡逻并遏制了偷猎活动。这并不是说偷猎行为不存在了——它一直存在，而且需要时刻被纳入保护行动计划之中。”

 

Conservationists are also cautiously optimistic after reports in June of a mass calving in the Ustiurt Plateau population in Mangystau, Kazakhstan. The birth of 530 calves doubled the population in that area in 2018.

 

今年6月的报告显示，赛加羚羊在哈萨克斯坦曼吉斯托（Mangystau）地区的乌斯蒂尔特高原大量产仔，但保育人士依然对此表示谨慎地乐观。这530只幼仔的出生让该地区赛加羚羊的总量翻了一番。

 

Researchers say saiga are resilient and, if given the chance, their population growth can be high.

 

研究人员说，赛加羚羊是一个极具韧性的物种。保护得当，未来其种群数量就有望恢复到高位。

 

“It is indeed a positive sign to discover a mass calving in the Mangystau region,” said Khanyari. “This population was known to migrate south to regions in Uzbekistan in the winter, but was affected by infrastructure projects like the railway and fences built around the Kazakh-Uzbek border. It will be important to monitor this population to see how it reacts to these infrastructure challenges.”

 

卡尼亚里说：“赛加羚羊在曼吉斯托地区大量产仔是一个积极的信号。众所周知，这批羚羊会在冬天向南迁徙至乌兹别克斯坦一带，但是它们在途中受到了哈乌边境铁路和围栏的影响。因此，监控该种群面临上述基础设施挑战时的反应就变得非常重要。”

 

Poaching has not been eliminated

偷猎行为并未彻底杜绝

 

Poaching for the antelope’s horns and meat, which accelerated in the 1990s, continues to threaten it. The horn is used in a wide variety of traditional Chinese medicines, as it is believed to treat fever and sore throat.

 

上世纪九十年代，为了获得羚羊的角和肉，偷猎行为十分猖獗，而如今这种威胁依旧存在。羚羊角是一种常用的中药材，主要用于治疗发烧和咽喉肿痛。

 

After China, Singapore is the biggest importer and consumer of saiga. In both countries, horn and its derivatives are legally authorised for trade and consumption. Research suggests that one in five Chinese Singaporeans use medicinal products derived from saiga horn, which is commonly known as ling yang.

 

除中国外，新加坡是全球第二大赛加羚羊制品进口国和消费国。在这两个国家，销售和使用羚羊角及其制品都是合法的。研究显示，20%的新加坡华人都使用过含有羚羊角成分的药品。

 

Medicinal demand is not the only threat. In September 2019, researchers concluded that the “rapid increase in poaching was in fact a direct result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent loss of law enforcement and management capacity in the saiga’s range states, as well as rampant rural poverty”.

 

药用需求并不是唯一的威胁。2019年9月，研究人员得出结论：“事实上，苏联解体，以及由此导致的赛加羚羊所在各州的执法和管理能力缺失，再加上农村地区贫困问题严重才是导致偷猎活动迅速增加的直接原因。”

 

“I think poaching is not nearly at the levels reached after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” said Khanyari. “Right after [that] people almost overnight lost institutional support to rear livestock, and started to kill saiga for meat and also males for their horns. Selectively harvesting males [females don’t have horns] led to population crashes, as saiga are a harem breeding species [one male mates with several females].”

 

卡尼亚里说：“我认为偷猎现在已经不像苏联解体之后那样猖獗了。苏联解体后，国营农场几乎在一夜之间关闭，不再饲养牲畜，民众为了吃肉只能宰杀赛加羚羊，而雄性赛加羚羊则成了羚羊角的重要来源。选择性地宰杀雄性赛加羚羊（因为雌羚羊没有角）导致种群自然繁殖率大幅下滑，因为赛加羚羊属于一雄多雌婚配制。

 

According to Orazbay Abdirakhmanov, who has written a number of books on the environmental challenges in the Aral Sea region, multiple factors caused the population to drop. These include uncontrolled poaching, physical borders negatively affecting migratory species and loss of habitat to industrial projects, such as oil and gas pipelines and railroads after 1990.

 

奥拉兹贝·阿卜迪拉赫马诺夫（Orazbay Abdirakhmanov）曾经撰写了不少有关咸海地区环境挑战的书籍。他认为，赛加羚羊种群数量下滑的背后有多重原因，其中包括不受控制的偷猎活动，对迁徙物种产生不利影响的物理边界障碍，以及上世纪九十年代之后油气管道和铁路等工业项目导致的栖息地丧失等等。

 

Impact of climate change

气候变化的影响

 

Scientists have identified another worrying cause of the species’ decline: climate-related and environmental stressors, which may exacerbate existing challenges. Research from British conservationists Richard Kock and Eleanor Milner-Gulland has linked mass-mortality events with high levels of humidity. “Most die-offs occur at a mean average maximum daily relative humidity of more than 80%,” they wrote in a recent paper. “In May 2015, atmospheric moisture was extreme with some of the highest recorded values for that time of year since 1948.”

 

科学家们找到了赛加羚羊种群数量下降的另一个令人担忧的原因：气候变化和环境压力，这些因素可能会加剧现有的挑战。英国生态保护工作者理查德·科可（Richard Kock）和埃莉诺·米尔纳·古兰德（Eleanor Milner-Gulland）的研究显示，环境湿度大与赛加羚羊大规模死亡事件具有联系。他们在新近刊发的论文中写道：“大多数羚羊死亡的时候，最大日平均相对湿度都超过了80%。2015年5月，大气湿度极高，多次刷新了自1948年以来的同期最高记录。”

 

Khanyari said: “Mass die-off is going to be a concern over the coming years. It is key our conservation efforts ensure that saiga populations grow big enough to deal with these catastrophic but often natural events.”

 

卡尼亚里说：“赛加羚羊的大规模死亡在未来几年将成为一个令人担忧的问题。我们保育工作的关键就是确保赛加羚羊种群数量增速达到一定规模，能够应对这类灾难性但通常也是自然发生的事件。”

 

“There is evidence that the 2015 mass die-off, like a few in the past, was related to Pasteurellosis, an infection caused by the bacteria pasteurella multocida and driven by climate anomalies. This bacteria usually lives in the oesophagus of antelope, but because of the temperature/humidity anomaly during the calving time (when females are already physiologically stressed), this bacteria turned virulent and caused haemorrhagic septicaemia. While that is the proximate cause, the ultimate cause remains unknown.”

 

“有证据显示，与过去几次一样，2015年赛加羚羊大规模死亡也与巴氏杆菌感染有关，这种病是由败血性巴氏杆菌引起的，与气候异常有着直接的关系。这种细菌通常生活在羚羊的食道中，但是由于雌羚羊产仔期间气温/湿度异常（此时雌羚羊生理上已经不堪重负），这种细菌会产生毒性并引起出血性败血病。尽管这是最有可能的原因，但最终原因仍然不得而知。”

 

Potential human conflict

与人类的潜在冲突

 

While the recent growth of the saiga population is good news for biodiversity, farmers might see things differently. Local news sources reported farmers in north-west Kazakhstan suffering losses after herds of the Ural saiga population migrated through their crop fields.

 

近期赛加羚羊种群数量的增长对生物多样性来说是个好消息，但农民们可能不这么想。据当地新闻媒体报道，一群群的乌拉尔赛加羚羊种群迁徙途中穿过农田，给哈萨克斯坦西北部农民带来了不小的损失。

 

“The government agencies and NGOs, from my knowledge are still gathering baseline data/evidence of this occurrence to then provide evidence-based interventions (if necessary),” said Khanyari. “I think it will be key for various stakeholders to work together towards a land-sharing rather than land-sparing way to conserve saigas. Historically, huge numbers of saiga shared the steppe with huge numbers of livestock, so it can be done.”

 

卡尼亚里说：“据我说知，政府机构和非政府组织仍在收集这一情况的基线数据/证据，以便（必要时）以此为依据进行干预。我认为，各利益相关方应该在赛加羚羊保护过程中采取土地共享而非分而治之的行动模式。过去，大量赛加羚羊和大量人工饲养的牲畜曾在草原上混居在一起，所以说这个模式是可行的。”

 

He added: “Overgrazing might be a concern as saiga numbers increase, but it is important to contextualise this within the bigger picture. Climate change is impacting these lands in various ways and also livestock numbers are rebounding after the dip following the Soviet break-up.”

 

他补充道：“随着赛加羚羊种群规模的增加，过度放牧的问题或许会逐渐突出，但是我们应该从宏观的角度来看待这个问题。气候变化正在以各种方式影响着这片土地，而苏联解体至今，牲畜数量也逐渐止跌反弹。”

 

Protecting Central Asia’s ‘natural heritage’

保护中亚的“自然遗产”

 

The government of Kazakhstan has stepped up its efforts to eradicate poaching by criminal organisations – which claimed the lives of two park rangers in 2019. Last year, the country’s National Security Committee conducted a nationwide operation, seizing over a tonne of saiga horns destined for China, with an estimated value of more than US$14 million.

 

哈萨克斯坦政府已经加大了力度，打击犯罪组织的偷猎行动。2019年，偷猎团伙导致两名保护区护林员丧生。去年，哈萨克斯坦国家安全委员会在全国范围内开展行动，缴获了一吨发往中国的赛加羚羊角，价值超过1400万美元。

 

The country’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said: “Poachers keep on hunting saigas, our natural heritage. They must be severely punished in accordance with law.”

 

哈萨克斯坦总统卡西姆若马尔特·托卡耶夫（Kassym-Jomart Tokayev）表示：“偷猎者一直在猎杀赛加羚羊。但这是我们的自然遗产，所以偷猎者必须受到法律的严惩。”

 

Conservationists and scientists say a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary, together with inter-state protection of the endangered species from illegal poaching. There must also be routine monitoring and research, so that countries in the region are better prepared for disease outbreaks.

 

生态保护工作者和科学家说，有必要采取多学科、跨国界的保护行动，打击非法偷猎，保护濒危物种。此外，还必须开展常规监测和研究，以便该地区国家为疾病暴发提前做好更充足的准备。

 

“Saiga are critical for the ecosystem of the region. As the primary consumer, they impact processes such as vegetation composition and nutrient cycling. Without the saiga the steppe ecosystem will likely be negatively affected, which has the potential to affect local water supplies and the climate. Saiga are also food for predators like wolves and even steppe eagles, so play a critical role in the food chain,” said Munib Khanyari.

 

卡尼亚里说：“赛加羚羊对于该地区的生态系统至关重要。作为主要的食草动物，它们影响了植被组成和养分循环等自然进程。没有赛加羚羊，草原生态系统将可能受到不利影响，甚至有可能改变当地的水源供应和气候。赛加羚羊还是狼以及草原鹰等肉食动物的食物，因此在食物链中也起着至关重要的作用。”

 

“Beyond this,” he added, “saiga are extremely important culturally and historically. Saiga have been roaming the Earth since the time of species like mammoths. They are like living fossils.”

 

他补充说：“除此之外，赛加羚羊在文化和历史上也有着举足轻重的地位。赛加羚羊自猛犸象时代就生活在地球上。他们就好像活化石一样。”

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