Understanding Migration Routes

When large herds set off, they often move across landscapes according to a particular pattern. Year after year, saiga antelopes likewise migrate across the vast expanses of Central Asia. They follow the fresh green vegetation, avoid deep snow and evade periods of drought – and repeatedly return to their calving grounds. These migrations are among the most impressive natural phenomena of the steppe. Yet researchers have only recently begun to systematically document these long-distance movements.

We can now understand these migrations much better thanks to the Atlas of Ungulate Migration, a freely accessible, science-based online platform that brings together movement data on ungulates from around the world – from wildebeest and elephants to reindeer and saigas. FZS has now contributed new data on antelope migrations in Kazakhstan, including data on the country’s largest saiga population in central Kazakhstan, which were published this spring. The atlas now contains maps showing the migrations of all three saiga populations in Kazakhstan, making it the most detailed visualisation of saiga migrations anywhere in the world.

When the Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration (GIUM) launched the digital atlas in 2024, FZS had already contributed monitoring data for the Ustyurt population, which migrates in western Kazakhstan. In February 2026, data on the migrations of the Betpak-Dala population – the largest saiga population, whose range lies in the centre of the country – and the Ural population, which migrates from western Kazakhstan into Russia, were added.

The data for the atlas come from extensive fieldwork: since 2009, more than 150 animals from the two populations have been monitored. To track their movement patterns, individual saiga antelopes are fitted with satellite collars that transmit their locations every day.

To fit the collars, the animals first have to be caught. “That is by no means easy with one of the fastest land mammals on Earth,” says Steffen Zuther, Project Manager of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative and scientific staff member for FZS in Kazakhstan. The team drives each saiga individually towards a net spread out on the ground using an off-road motorcycle. Helpers wait at either end of the net and raise it at precisely the right moment.

“This method has proven to be very successful and safe. We pursue an animal for no more than four minutes in order to keep stress to a minimum and prevent injuries. If the antelope has not reached the net within that time, we focus on another animal,” says Steffen Zuther.

Once an animal has been caught, another four minutes are allocated for examinations and fitting the collar. “Thanks to this approach, we are always able to release the saiga antelopes back into the steppe in good condition and fitted with a collar.”

The collared animals provide valuable information about when and where they migrate, how fast they move and which landscape elements they avoid or prefer. This creates a detailed picture of how saiga antelopes travel long distances in search of food, safe places to give birth and protection from extreme weather conditions.

According to the newly published analysis, animals from the central Betpak-Dala population travel an average of around 250 kilometres per season, with individual animals covering as much as 500 kilometres. In the Ural population, the average was around 130 kilometres.

Comparing the movement patterns reveals how different populations respond to changes in the landscape and weather conditions, and how their routes shift over the years. Saiga migrations are not the same every year. Rainfall, snow depth, periods of drought and vegetation growth all influence when the animals set off and which routes they take.

This is precisely why long-term data are so valuable. They provide not merely a snapshot, but reveal patterns within a landscape that is constantly changing.

For the protection of the animals, this is crucial. Knowing which areas they use in both favourable and difficult years makes it possible to plan protected areas, ecological corridors and infrastructure measures more effectively. The atlas also makes these relationships understandable to people who do not work with telemetry data every day – such as public authorities, planning offices and political decision-makers.

“Migratory animals are particularly difficult to protect because they move far beyond the boundaries of individual protected areas,” says Prof. Dr Thomas Müller of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt. The biologist is a member of GIUM’s scientific advisory board. GIUM leads the work on the atlas and operates under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Bonn Convention.

The aim of GIUM is to document, better understand and protect the migrations of ungulates around the world. To achieve this, the international network of researchers and conservationists brings together scientific data and local expertise and makes them freely available.

“The atlas is important because it transforms individual tracking studies and local knowledge into a global, living map that shows where ungulates move and which routes they depend on,” says Thomas Müller.

The atlas identifies important migration corridors and seasonal ranges. In doing so, it provides governments and conservation professionals with concrete information that can help them plan protected areas more effectively and redesign roads and fences. It helps ensure that new developments are planned in ways that allow the animals to continue moving freely.

Kazakhstan’s rapid economic growth and the country’s increasing importance as a transit country between China and Europe have led to a major expansion of linear infrastructure in many places. This development is continuing.

Railway lines, roads and fences are increasingly restricting the freedom of movement of saiga antelopes. Although some animals manage to cross these barriers, they remain an obstacle for many. The animals are also affected by the light and noise produced by vehicles. All of this affects their physical condition, reduces reproduction and increases mortality.

For saiga antelopes, these migrations are essential for survival. At the same time, the animals themselves shape this landscape: through their migrations, they prevent excessive grazing, promote a high diversity of plants, transport seeds over long distances and create healthy dynamics within an ecosystem that thrives on constant change.

Their extensive migrations are therefore crucial to the stability of the entire steppe.

For many years, FZS has been working to protect saiga antelopes together with its partners in the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, including the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan.

In addition to monitoring saiga antelopes, FZS in Kazakhstan also collects movement data on other ungulates that play important roles in the ecosystem, such as kulans and Przewalski’s horses. In future, these data are also intended to be published in the atlas and made available to researchers and policymakers – providing a more holistic picture of this important landscape.

Anja Schuller is a freelance journalist who writes about nature.