Today, this animal is still listed in the Red List of the World, categorized as “critically endangered.”
The Animal that Emerged from Mythology, Present Since the Ice Age
The Classic of Mountains and Seas is an ancient Chinese book that compiles various stories about geography, mythology, and mystical creatures. Among them is the creature known as “yang hua” – described as having a sheep-like shape but lacking a mouth, capable of living without eating.
Depiction of yang hua in The Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Saiga Antelope.
The descriptions of “yang hua” closely resemble the characteristics of a rare real-life animal – the Saiga Antelope. This species possesses a large nose resembling that of an elephant, which often appears to overshadow its mouth. Therefore, it is commonly referred to as the “mouthless sheep” in legend.
Having existed since the Ice Age, the Saiga Antelope once roamed alongside woolly rhinoceroses and mammoths, stretching from the British Isles to Alaska. Approximately 45,000 to 10,000 years ago, the range of this species even extended into the Northern Hemisphere.
From a Common Species to a Long-standing Name in the Red List of the World
The Saiga Antelope is now only found in Kazakhstan, parts of Uzbekistan, Russia, and Mongolia.
However, the Saiga Antelope is now confined to the deserts and grasslands of Kazakhstan, parts of Uzbekistan, Russia, and Mongolia. In 2015, about 200,000 Saiga Antelope – more than half of the global population at that time – were wiped out due to an outbreak caused by a type of bacterial infection in the nose, which spread rapidly under unusually warm and humid conditions.
By 2021, the number of mature Saiga Antelope had dwindled to around 124,000, a sharp decline from over 1 million in the 1990s. Consequently, they have been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered, on the brink of extinction.
The horns of the Saiga Antelope are considered ‘precious medicine’ in traditional Chinese medicine.
In addition to disease, this rare animal is often threatened by the demands of the “black market.” Specifically, the horns of the Saiga Antelope are regarded as “precious medicine” in traditional Chinese medicine, commonly used to treat fevers, sore throats, detoxify, and address various liver issues.
During the most intense “price surge”, their horns could sell for as much as $4,000 per kilogram (approximately 94.2 million VND per kilogram).
