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The voice of the Saiga is stated by Glitsch to be a deep loud bleat, which 
is frequently uttered by the young animals, but by the older animals only in 
the pairing-season and when they are wounded. ‘The hearing, the sight, and 
the smell of the Saiga are all highly developed, and combine to render it a 
very difficult animal for the hunter to approach. 
The Saigas are said to begin breeding about the middle of December (new 
style), and at this season commonly assemble in large herds in the warm side- 
valleys of the Sal and Manitsch, which are mostly free from snow. At this 
time the young are said to be driven away from the parents in flocks into the 
thickets, while the males fight fiercely one with another for the possession of 
the females. The female is stated to go five months with young, and to bring 
forth about the middle of May amongst the higher vegetation of the steppe. 
As a rule, she produces two young ones, seldom only one. ‘The mother is 
sometimes seen followed by three young ones, but in such a case the third is, 
probably, an adopted animal. In the morning, after suckling her young ones, 
the mother leaves them concealed in the herbage, and goes far off to feed, 
returning to them only in the evening and staying with them all night. In 
about four weeks’ time the young Saigas learn to feed themselves, and the 
young horns begin to appear in the bucks. They suck, however, till the 
end of October, and follow after the mother up to the winter. The food 
of the Saiga consists not so much of the true grasses as of the leafy 
shrubs of the steppes, such as Artemisia, Atriplex, and Glycirhiza, as well as 
Inula dysenterica and other saline plants. 
Besides mankind, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga Antelope in the Volga 
district has no special enemy. ‘The wolves and foxes, the only large beasts 
of prey of these steppes, can only attack quite young animals, the older ones 
easily making their escape. They have one great plague in the steppes, 
however, in the insects, especially a species of @strus, by which at times they 
seem to be driven nearly crazy, and with the eggs and larve of which their 
skins seem to be almost always infested. 
The flesh of the Saiga is said to be particularly tender and well-flavoured, 
and more like good mutton than anything else. 
The favourite mode of chase of the Saiga is to drive out on to the steppes 
at early dawn with a cart containing provisions, and, after hiding the cart in 
some ravine, to stalk them with a rifle in the same manner as other large 
game-animals. But they are also occasionally taken in steel traps which are 
