With the aliases of Saiga Antelope and Large-nosed Antelope, it belongs to the Bovidae family of Artiodactyl order. Its scientific name is Saiga tatarica (Latin), or Saiga or High-nosed Antelope (English).
Its body length is 100 to 150 centimeters, and shoulder height is 63 to 83 centimeters. The adult male weighs 37 to 60 kilograms and the female 29 to 37 kilograms. The male has 28- to 37-centimeter-long horns, of which about 3/4 of the base has loop edges in amber color. Its nasal part is particularly swelled, ridged and decurved, with the nostril at the extreme point; hence it is named "High-nosed Antelope". Its brown yellow body hair is dense, belly and inner side of four limbs are whitish, and hair is gray in wintertime.
Living in desert and semi-desert zones, it moves about in subgroups; sometimes hundreds of them adopt mass migration. In winter it moves about in daytime, in summer it moves about in the morning and dusk. There is a seasonal migration phenomenon that it moves southwards warm hillside zone facing sunlight. It runs very fast with stamina, hence it is called "long-distance running sportsman" by herders. It mainly feeds on grass and bushes. Oestrus and mating are at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. Sometimes there's a drastic vying for females among males which won't be long. Its gestation period lasts over 6 months with 1 to 2 babies per fetus. It grows to sexual maturity at the age of a year and half. Under breeding condition, it has a lifespan of 10 to 12 years. Its antelope horns enjoy worldwide reputation as of precious medicinal value.
It was originally bredin JunggarBasin of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, but the wild population has already been extinct, and foreign ones have been introduced to China, which are under fostering in Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for experiments and researches to restore its population in the open air.
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