Saiga Definition

Saiga Sentence Examples

• The great order of Ungulata is represented by various forms of sheep, as many as ten or twelve wild species of Ovis being met with in the mountain chains of Asia; and more sparingly by several peculiar forms of antelope, such as the saiga (Saiga tatarica), and the Gazella gutturosa, or yellow sheep. Coming to the deer, we also meet with characteristic forms in northern Asia, especially those belonging to the typical genus Cervus.

• The sheep-like saiga, Saiga tatarica, of the Kirghiz steppes stands apart from all other antelopes by its curiously puffed and trunk-like nose, which can be wrinkled up when the animal is feeding and has the nostrils opening downwards.

• More or less nearly related to the saiga is the chiru, Pantholops hodgsoni, of Tibet, characterized by the long upright black horns of the bucks, and the less convex nose, in which the nostrils open anteriorly instead of downwards.

• The chiru, which belongs to the typical or antilopine section of antelopes, is probably allied to the saiga.

• It has a proud cultural tradition and unusual wildlife, particularly the critically endangered saiga antelope.