Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Disease outbreak kills Hundreds of endangered antelopes in
Kazakhstan
by Staff Writers
Almaty (AFP) May 30, 2011
More than 440 endangered Saiga antelopes were found dead in
western Kazakhstan last week, suspected victims of the same
epidemic that killed 12,000 animals last year, officials said on
Monday.
The horned animals, distinguished for the flexible snout-like
noses, originally inhabited a vast territory stretching from
Mongolia to Europe.
But they are now listed as a critically endangered species by the
World Wildlife Fund, with an estimated population of 50,000.
The 441 animals found dead last week included 364 does and 77
fawns.
"The fallen animals exhibited poisoning symptoms," the Interfax
news agency quoted an emergencies ministry official as saying.
The animals appear to have died from an infectious disease called
pasteurellosis, the unnamed official said.
The often-deadly infection strikes the lungs and intestines, and
needs to be treated with antibiotics.
Kazakh authorities were currently taking land and other samples to
help them determine what had caused the latest outbreak, Interfax
said.