saiga atelope is a very curious looking animal. It is recognizable by an extremely unusual, over-sized, and flexible, nose. Its internal structure is composed of an intricate network of bones, hairs and mucous-secreting glands. During summer migrations it helps filter out dust, kicked up by the herd and cools the animals blood. During the winter it heads up the frigid air before it is taken into the lungs, thereby reducing heat loss in its body.
The eyes are large with a dark brown iris. They are set at the end of bony knobs on either side of its head, giving it a bug-eyed look, and a wide angle to spot potential danger. Their eyesight is keen and they can see long distances. The rounded ears and the tail are short.
Typical habitat consists of level or gently sloping steppes and semi deserts. They avoid slightly broken terrain, deserts, and bushy and hilly areas. Saiga go into hilly terrain in Mongolia, they move up the slopes in winter even in summer, were they were found around 1500 m and more.
More than 80 species of plants and lichens have been recorded in their diet, especially grasses, genera Stipa, Allium and Anabasis.
They require fairly good watering places and shallow snow cover in winter. They spend most of the time in winter in gravel, sand, and clay deserts, and in summer in semi deserts and rarely, steppes (due to live-stock competition in this habitat).
Ambling is the normal pace. Adults can run up to 80 km/h, lambs (8-15 days old) run at 40-50 km/h. Saiga are good swimmers.
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