Thunderbolt kills 350 endangered antelope in Kazakhstan

Saiga deer is threatened with extinction.

Reuters

Kazakhstan announced today that about 350 saiga antelopes, an endangered species with great symbolism in the Central Asian country, have been found dead in the plains, in a tragedy that authorities have attributed to a thunderbolt.

The tragic incident occurred during the reproductive season of Saiga animals, which are classified as Critical Threatened species from the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The Kazakh Ministry of Environment said that the lightning strike most likely caused the death of these antelopes "by the presence of shocking effects on their carcasses."

These animals, known for their twisted horns and long, round buccal parts, were on the verge of extinction several times.

Its origin dates back to the last ice age.

In the Soviet era, these antelopes were protected under a comprehensive ban on hunting them, and then strict hunting quotas were set for them as of the 1950s.

At that time, the number reached more than two million animals.

After the independence of Kazakhstan in 1991, there was a significant increase in the rate of illegal poaching of the Saiga antelope, which posed a new threat to their demise.

There are currently about 50,000 saigas in the world, about 90% of which live in Kazakhstan.

Traditional medicine in neighboring China uses horns of male saigas, fueling a destructive trade that generates huge revenues.

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