JiE CORDS OF BIG GAME 



Horns of Saiga, from the Hon. Walter Rothschild's specimen. 



SAIGA (Saiga tatarica). 



One of the most remarkable of all antelopes is the Central Asian 



saiga, which, although belonging to the same group as the blackbuck, 



differs from most of its kindred by the extraordinary inflated and puffy 



shape of the nose. This forms a kind of trunk, comparable to that of 



the dik-diks, with the nostrils directed downwards. The tail is short, 



and lateral hoofs, which are wanting in the impala, are present. In 



summer the colour is dull yellowish above and whitish beneath, but in 



winter the whole fur is uniformly whitish. The short and blunt ears 



are very thickly covered with hair, and the horns of the males pale 



amber colour. Height at shoulder about 30 inches. 



Distribution. — The open steppes of Southern Russia and South-Eastern 



Siberia. Formerly the range of this animal was much more 



extensive in Europe, reaching to the confines of Poland, but 



nowadays it is restricted to the Kalmuk Steppes between the rivers 



Don and Volga. 



Hon. Walter Rothschild. 



(See illustration.) 

 Sir Edmund G. Loder, Bart. 



Sir Victor Brooke's Collection. 



British Museum. 



Hon. Walter Rothschild. 



