Four top priority EDGE species have been highlighted in a unique fashion collection, Simply Rare, which features the long-beaked echidna, slender loris, saiga antelope, and long-eared jerboa.
Student Rachel Browne designed the pieces as part of her final collection for her degree at the Arts University College Bournemouth.
Rachel wanted to highlight the plight of these animals through her work, saying “I didn’t realise just how many of these animals I had never seen before… hopefully through my chosen medium this will show how we are endangering these unique creatures lives, and in turn gain support.”
In Rachel’s words:
Simply Rare is a six outfit collection inspired by the vast number of unknown endangered species that span our natural world. The aim of this collection is to show the plight of four of these unique creatures before they disappear forever, silently and in the shadows. It is important to portray this issue to a wider audience so others become aware of the situation and see just how special these animals truly are. To produce this vision a variety of nine individual prints have been beautifully created with a mixture of hand crafted and digital processes to create a quirky, one of a kind collection.
Rachel has already achieved her aim of raising awareness - her saiga antelope terrence skirt was featured in the Sunday Express fashion supplement on May 30th and on the Express website.
We wish Rachel the best of luck for tomorrow when she will be showing the collection at Graduate Fashion Week.
To support EDGE conservation projects for forgotten species, please donate here.
The saiga (Saiga tatarica) is EDGE mammal conservation priority number 62, and is today’s IUCN Species of the Day.
This extraordinary-looking antelope is found in central Asia in about five distinct sub-populations. The saiga’s over-sized nose is thought to be an adaptation for warming and moistening inhaled air during the winter, filtering out airborne dust during the dry summer migrations, and acting as a counter-current heat exchange mechanism to control body temperature.
Saiga have long been hunted for their horn, skin, and meat, but populations were well managed during Soviet times and remained relatively stable. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 illegal poaching intensified - males were targeted in particular for their horns, which were promoted as an alternative to rhino horn in traditional oriental medicine. This resulted in a catastrophic decline, with numbers plummeting from more than one million saiga in 1991 to about 30,000 in 2003. This is one of the most sudden and dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen, and caused the saiga to be listed as Critically Endangered with extinction.
Intensive conservation efforts in the past decade have helped reduce population declines. However, we were informed this week that the Ural population in Kazakhstan have suffered a devastating blow - more than 12,000 saiga have been found dead in an unusual mass mortality event. The dead were mostly females who had recently given birth, as well as their calves.
The official 2009 estimate of the size of the Ural population was 26,000 animals, and the population has just been through an unusually harsh winter, so these deaths represent a severe blow to the species. Investigations are underway to identify the cause of the deaths, which is likely a result of disease.
We are contributing to saiga conservation efforts through supporting EDGE Fellow Buuveibaatar, who is working on the smallest saiga sub-population in Mongolia, where there is just an estimated 1,500 saiga. Buuvei is investigating the causes of mortality, focussing on saiga calves, to help improve conservation management actions in the Shargyn Gobi Nature Reserve and guarantee the survival of the saiga antelope on the Mongolian plains. You can read more about Buuvei’s work in his blogs.
If you want to help our conservation efforts then please donate here.
This year, Mongolia is affected by a “dzud”, a natural disaster consisting of a summer drought, followed by heavy snowfall with extreme cold temperatures. The heavy snowfall and extreme cold temperatures (up to -50 degrees centigrade) have lead to a massive death of the livestock. According to the National Statistical Office of Mongolia, over 5 million livestock had died so far, and the mortality is expected to increase until end of spring.
Fortunately, saiga mortality is relatively low comparing to the previous dzuds that occurred 10 years ago, because southern range of saiga distribution is not affected by heavy snow. During the harsh winters of 2000 and 2001, approximately 75% of the total saiga population crashed. Local herders and saiga rangers reported that saiga have changed their range greatly, and penetrated into new areas, from the desert basins up to higher elevations, avoiding the thick snow and searching for food.
However, the situation in northern area of saiga range is much more vicious for the population, where the whole area is covered by deep snow homogeneously. In order to support starving saiga antelope in northern range, WWF Mongolia has taken urgent measures. A project team spent about 4000 USD to deliver and distribute the pressed hays to saiga area under supervision of scientists, saiga rangers and local herders.
Given the fact that the dzud condition has led to a mass mortality of livestock within and beyond saiga range, WWF Mongolia is concerned about possible increase of poaching for wildlife related products including saiga horn as an alternative income. Nevertheless, thanks to comprehensive law enforcement efforts of WWF Mongolia such as Mobile Anti Poaching Unit, Saiga rangers’ Network and Volunteer rangers, there is no incident of saiga poaching recorded this winter.
To note, a joint project between Wildlife Conservation Society and Mongolian Academy of Sciences started in 2008 to understand survival and mortality of saiga calves in western Mongolia. Within the framework of the project we collared total 80 new born saiga calves in last 2 summers. By the end of November, 2009, total of 31 saigas calves (11 from 2008) have been survived. We have planned to resume the monitoring of collared saiga animals that suspended in late fall of 2009 due to logistical difficulty. Therefore, the results from the monitoring of post-winter survival will enable us to understand how harsh the winter was for the both adults and calves of saiga population in western Mongolia.
To support EDGE Fellows, like Buuvei, who are researching and conserving one-of-a kind EDGE species, please donate here or become an EDGE Champion.
EDGE supports Mongolian conservationist Buuvei through the EDGE Fellows programme to research threats to saiga. Here is an account of his most recent fieldwork:
In June 2008, the joint project between Wildlife Conservation Society and Mongolian Academy of Sciences initiated field survey to understand survival and mortality of saiga calf in western Mongolia. This year, we repeated the field survey at same place.
Saiga calves are effective hider first few days and it’s difficult to find them. Twins were separated at least 3 m from each other to mitigate detectability to predators.
We captured and collared 40 new born saiga calves within a week. First calf was captured on 12 June (1 day earlier than last year).
9 sets of twins (total 18 calves) were twin and 22 calves were singletons. Of these 23 calves were males and others were females. Body weight of collared calves was averaged 2.8 kg and did not differ between sexes.
Expandable VHF radio-collars were fitted with calves. Because the collars expand as the calves grow and ultimately rot away they have no impact on calves themselves.
Red fox (Vulpes corsac) was the most frequently observed carnivore in the study site. During the capture effort, 3 collared calves were killed by red fox (Vulpes corsac). Further, we witnessed 4 incidents of fox predating on calves during the observation. Low density of small mammals due to bad vegetation may force foxes to prey on newborn saiga calves.
Total 21 radio-collared calves have survived since June 2008. Currently, total of 58 saiga calves (37 from this year, 3 calves already died because of fox predation) are being monitored by trained saiga ranger from WWF Mongolia Office.
If you would like to support Buuvei’s vital research on the Critically Endangered saiga, please become an EDGE Champion, or donate here.
EDGE Fellow Buuvei is investigating how much predation from dogs threatens Mongolian saiga antelopes. Here he tells us about efforts to combat one of the other factors threatening this incredible species - poaching.
Poaching is one of the primary drivers of the population decline of Mongolian saiga that numbering few thousands. On 07 April, 2009 WWF funded Mobile Anti-Poaching Unit (MAPU) in collaboration with local police officers detained two Mongolian citizens who killed 7 saigas in Shargyn Gobi, Gobi-Altay, Mongolia. The case initially informed by local people to saiga ranger on 22 January, 2009. All saiga were adult males. Poachers chased them with a motorcycle and shot. Horns were cut by saw.
After 3 months of tireless effort of investigation, finally they arrested the poachers. The poachers expected to be fined with USD 28,000 (USD 4,000 for each) or imprisonment. Besides this, the MAPU has revealed three cases of poaching 15 saiga since October, 2007.
Selective hunting targeted on horned male has a serious negative impact on populations’ breeding system and its ability to recover. Because saiga horns are essential component of Chinese traditional medicine, people frequently attempt to smuggle saiga horn to China. The largest attempt was halted by customer officers in 2006 and they seized 108 horns of Mongolian saiga. In addition, custom officers at international railroad between China and Mongolia have been confiscated two cases of total 570 horns since 2006, which did not belong to saiga antelopes of the Mongolian subspecies.
If you would like to support conservation of species, including the unusual saiga antelope, please become an EDGE Champion or donate here.