--- title: Endangered Species: Scientists Can't Explain Saiga Antelope Deaths description: More than 120,000 of the endangered saiga antelope have died of a mystery illness in recent weeks in Kazakhstan. canonical: https://time.com/3902643/saiga-antelope-dying-science/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-31T18:16:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:11.828Z article:section: Science og:title: Half of an Endangered Antelope Population Has Died Within Weeks og:description: More than 120,000 of the saiga antelope have died in Kazakhstan og:url: https://time.com/3902643/saiga-antelope-dying-science/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0cbdf3e950ade9/6988525ae20a87400da8b9c4/saiga.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5467 og:image:height: 3075 og:image:alt: Saiga og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Half of an Endangered Antelope Population Has Died Within Weeks twitter:description: More than 120,000 of the saiga antelope have died in Kazakhstan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0cbdf3e950ade9/6988525ae20a87400da8b9c4/saiga.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:03 video:published: 2014-03-12 section: science topics: de-extinction, passenger pigeon, cloning, genome sequencing, conservation, biotechnology, extinction, Tasmanian tiger, Iranian Ibex, museum specimens genre: documentary, explainer tones: thoughtful, curious, reflective, hopeful emotions: nostalgia (medium), curiosity (high), sadness (medium), hope (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: science enthusiasts, conservationists, general news readers, students people: Stuart Brand organizations: TIME content_suitability: death [03:22-03:34]; violence [00:53-01:02] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Half of an Endangered Antelope Population Has Died Within Weeks > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b1397818-79ca-4646-b618-ea7de5fb4ba7&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life [Watch (HLS stream): Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2014-03-12. Conservationists and scientists have a saying, "extinction is forever." But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to "DE-extinction is forever."_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Stuart Brand introduces the idea of de-extinction, the attempt to bring extinct species back to life using preserved DNA. He describes the passenger pigeon's history of mass abundance, its hunting-driven extinction, and the lead researcher's project to revive it. The video outlines the process of sequencing genomes, building cell code from scratch, and cloning, citing the extinct Iranian Ibex as a proof of concept and the Tasmanian tiger as a further target. It closes by asking whether extinction must be forever or whether de-extinction can be. ## Key points - The passenger pigeon existed for about 6 million years and once darkened the sky with giant flocks. (00:31) - Passenger pigeons were hunted and netted until the species was wiped out, with the last one dying in 1914. (00:53) - The de-extinction approach uses DNA from museum specimens and fossils to recreate an extinct species. (00:15) - The passenger pigeon project plans to sequence its whole genome and build its genetic code one gene at a time, comparing it to its closest relative. (02:23) - DNA would be introduced into the living cell of a band-tailed pigeon, and an extinct animal's egg cell placed into a new mother. (02:42) - The extinct Iranian Ibex was successfully cloned, the first de-extinction, though the animal lived only about ten minutes. (02:59) - The Tasmanian tiger's last known member, Benjamin, died in 1936, and its extinction was caused by human activity. (03:22) - The speaker argues that human intervention through biotechnology is not unnatural because it is what species do. (03:38) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:31] Introduction to de-extinction. Stuart Brand introduces the idea of using DNA from museum specimens and fossils to bring back extinct species. - [00:31 to 01:02] The passenger pigeon's history. The video describes the passenger pigeon's long existence, its vast flocks, and its rapid extinction through hunting. - [01:02 to 01:55] Legacy and the revival project. The speaker recalls the loss felt in America and introduces his role leading the passenger pigeon de-extinction project. - [01:55 to 02:31] Addressing the Jurassic Park comparison. The speaker distinguishes the project from Jurassic Park and outlines the scientific steps of sequencing and building the genome. - [02:31 to 03:04] Cloning and the Iranian Ibex. The process of introducing DNA into living cells and implanting eggs is described, with the Iranian Ibex cited as proof of concept. - [03:04 to 04:03] Tasmanian tiger and the future of extinction. The Tasmanian tiger is discussed as a future target, and the video closes by proposing that de-extinction may be forever. ## Key quotes - [00:06] Stuart Brand: "My name is Stuart Brand and I was trained as an" - [01:12] Stuart Brand: "It was one of the prideful things that America had to" - [03:38] Stuart Brand: "For me, biotech is the future of conservation because our" - [03:54] Stuart Brand: "But what if the new truth is that deextinction is forever?" ## Questions this video answers - What is de-extinction? [00:06] - Why did the passenger pigeon go extinct? [00:53] - How would scientists bring back the passenger pigeon? [02:05] - Has any extinct species been successfully cloned? [02:59] - Is de-extinction different from Jurassic Park? [01:36] ## Content suitability - death [03:22-03:34]: Discusses the death of Benjamin, the last Tasmanian tiger, and extinctions caused by humans. - violence [00:53-01:02]: Refers to hunting and netting passenger pigeons until they were all killed.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 31, 2015 6:16 PM UTC  HANDOUT - Eine liegende Saiga-Antilope ist auf einem undatierten Handout zu sehen. Eine Viruserkrankung hat in wenigen Tagen rund 20 000 der vom Aussterben bedrohten Antilopen in Kasachstan getötet. Photo by: Rotislav Stach/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images HANDOUT - Eine liegende Saiga-Antilope ist auf einem undatierten Handout zu sehen. Eine Viruserkrankung hat in wenigen Tagen rund 20 000 der vom Aussterben bedrohten Antilopen in Kasachstan getötet. Photo by: Rotislav Stach/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Rotislav Stach—picture-alliance/AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 31, 2015 6:16 PM UTC More than 120,000 of the endangered saiga antelope have died in recent weeks due to illness, conservation and wildlife officials say, a [mystifying loss](http://www.cms.int/en/news/catastrophic-collapse-saiga-antelopes-central-asia) that represents more than a third of its global population. “This loss is a huge blow for saiga conservation in Kazakhstan and in the world,” Kazakhstan’s vice agriculture minister Erlan Nysynbaev said in a statement released by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, a treaty under the U.N. Environment Programme. “It is very painful to witness this mass mortality.” Scientists have identified a number of biological and environmental factors that have likely contributed to the deaths but the exact cause remains unclear. Two bacteria pathogens, Pasteurella and Clostridia, have been found in the carcasses but neither were considered the lethal cause unless the immune system was already weak. Adding to scientists’s confusion and frustration, the mystery ailment leaves no survivors when it hits a herd. “The scale is absolutely unprecedented,” Dr. Aline Kuehl-Stenzel, a coordinator of the Convention, [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/science/saiga-antelope-mystery-disease-die-off.html?ref=science) the New York _Times_. More than 90% of the world’s saiga population lives in Kazakhstan, where officials have worked to support the species’ population growth and anti-poaching measures. Researchers estimated that 250,000 of the species, which has experienced mass die-offs in the past, lived worldwide earlier this year and was spread out over five Asian nations. ## Transcript [00:00] [ SOUND ] [00:03] [ MUSIC ] [00:06] My name is Stuart Brand and I was trained as an [00:10] ecologist. Conservation is about to take a turn because [00:15] the technology was gonna allow us to use the DNA [00:18] that's in the museum specimens and fossils to bring [00:21] back extinct species [ MUSIC ] [00:31] The passenger pigeon was around for 6 million years. [00:34] And people remembered how amazing it was that [00:37] these animals darkened the sky for hours at a time. [00:42] There's these stories about these giant flocks blocking [00:45] out the sun. And their wings sounding louder than [00:49] thunder. We developed the techniques [00:53] to hunt and net these birds and basically killed them [00:57] all. And then it was really gone. When [01:02] I was growing up, my mother said when the last one [01:05] died in 1914 it broke America's heart. It [01:12] was one of the prideful things that America had to [01:14] show the world, and it was gone. This book. This [01:20] is essentially the bible of passenger pigeon. I am [01:23] currently the lead researcher for the deextinction [01:25] project to bring the extinct passenger pigeon back [01:30] to life. When I say, oh, we'll bring back a passenger [01:34] pigeon, everyone goes, oh, my god, that's like Jurassic [01:36] Park. And no, no, it's not. Not at all. Our scientists have [01:40] done things which nobody's ever done before. Yeah, [01:43] yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with [01:44] whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if [01:46] they should. I don't think a pigeon is going to, [01:50] you know, pluck lawyers off of toilets. No. [01:55] [ SOUND ]. [01:57] Aah! [01:59] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [02:01] So how we're actually going to go about deextinction. [02:05] Every organism has a unique code in their genes. This [02:08] one would be good I think. So these are actual DNA [02:11] codes. From a chunk of a passenger pigeon foot. Now, [02:16] if you can get DNA, then we can actually make it into a [02:19] living cell. We're going to sequence its whole genome. [02:23] We're gonna build from scratch the code that is a [02:27] passenger pigeon, one gene at a time. Compare [02:31] it to its closest relative. [ MUSIC ] [02:38] Then we're gonna introduce DNA into the living cell of [02:42] a band- tailed pigeon. And [02:46] when you introduce an extinct animal's egg cell into a [02:49] new mother, then you've changed the game. [ MUSIC ] [02:53] Which has been done. The [02:59] extinct Iranian Ibex was successfully cloned. That [03:04] was the first deextinction. In this particular case, the [03:08] animal only lived about ten minutes, but it was a proof [03:12] of concept, and with further efforts, we hope, followed [03:15] by everything from the passenger pigeon to the [03:18] Tasmanian tiger. It's [03:22] one of the most famous human- caused extinctions in [03:25] the world. Benjamin, the last Tasmanian tiger, died [03:30] in 1936. It [03:34] was our direct activity that caused that extinction. For [03:38] me, biotech is the future of conservation because our [03:42] meddling is not unnatural. It is what species [03:46] do. One of the things that gotten used to is [03:51] the horrifying realization that extinction is forever. 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