Saving the Saiga IELTS Reading Answers

Introduction

"Saving the Saiga" is an IELTS Academic Reading passage about the saiga antelope of Central Asia — its strange adaptations, the reasons its population collapsed, and how conservationists are bringing it back from the brink.

This post gives you the complete reading passage, all 13 questions, the full answer key, and a detailed explanation of every answer showing exactly where it appears in the text.

The passage contains two question types:

• Questions 1–7 — Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
• Questions 8–13 — True / False / Not Given

Give yourself 20 minutes, attempt the questions first, and only then scroll down to the answers.

Reading Passage: Saving the Saiga

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13.

The saiga, a species of antelope native to Central Asia, once roamed the vast grasslands of this region in enormous herds, many millions strong. Regrettably, such spectacular sights are a thing of the past. Today, the saiga is largely confined to a single country: Kazakhstan. This country is estimated to be home to well over 90% of the global saiga population, with Russia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan accounting for the rest.

The saiga is perfectly adapted to the tough conditions of the remote wilderness of the steppes of Central Asia. One such adaptation is its bizarre bulbous nose, which enables the animal to survive the extreme seasonal temperature swings of the region. The swollen nostrils of the nose serve several purposes: they filter out dust and cool the blood during hot, dry summers, and they warm the cold air before it enters the saiga's lungs in winter. Other seasonal adaptations include a heavy winter coat that the saiga sheds when the weather warms up.

Despite these superb adaptations to harsh conditions, the saiga has no defence against the threats posed by humans. It was almost driven to extinction by hunters in the 19th century. Legal protection ensured its survival for a while, and numbers steadily recovered throughout most of the 20th century. But the respite was only temporary. In the ten years following the break-up of the former Soviet Union in 1991, over 95% of the global population was lost — one of the fastest examples of species loss ever recorded for a mammal.

The dramatic decline during this decade was due to illegal poaching on an industrial scale. Male saiga are a particular target, because their horns are highly prized by traditional medicine practitioners. Poaching reached epidemic levels after misguided conservationists tried to relieve the pressure on threatened African rhinos by actively encouraging the use of saiga horns in traditional medicine as an alternative to those of rhinos. Male saiga were almost wiped out, leading to a population crash from which the species has been struggling to recover ever since.

Another threat to the survival of the saiga is loss of habitat, as a result of agricultural expansion and human settlement. Physical barriers such as railways, pipelines and fences can block the seasonal migration routes of this transboundary species. In the worst cases, herds may starve to death after being trapped.

Then there is the risk of disease. In 2015, an outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia, caused by the normally harmless bacterium Pasteurella multocida, killed over 75% of the global adult saiga population in just three weeks. In 2017, 60% of the Mongolian saiga population — a subspecies found nowhere else in the world — was killed by a virus that spilled over from livestock. These so-called mass mortality events represent an unpredictable and serious threat to the species.

Climate change poses a further threat. Although well adapted to cold winters and hot summers, saiga struggle to cope with temperature extremes and unpredictable fluctuations in climate. Experts believe that unusually warm weather may have triggered the 2015 mass mortality event. The steppe region has also become increasingly arid in recent years, and many of the smaller streams that the species normally depended on have dried up and vanished.

Recent efforts to save the saiga have been spearheaded by the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, a project led by the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, working in partnership with the Kazakh government's Committee for Forestry and Wildlife, Frankfurt Zoological Society and Fauna and Flora, an international conservation charity. Its purpose is to protect and restore Kazakhstan's steppe, semi-desert and desert ecosystems and the many species they support, including the critically endangered saiga. In 2022 the United Nations recognised the initiative as a World Restoration Flagship project, an accolade reserved for the ten best examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration around the globe.

So, how many saiga are there now? By 2000, the global saiga population had hit an all-time low of just 21,000 individuals. There was some recovery in the first decade of the new millennium but this was then crushed by devastating mass mortality events that saw the loss of hundreds of thousands of the species. But thanks to the intervention of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, the most recent episodes in the ongoing story of the saiga have been relatively uplifting. Three years ago, the Ustyurt Plateau population in Kazakhstan experienced its largest mass birth of saiga calves in many years. An aerial census two years ago recorded an estimated 842,000 saiga across Kazakhstan as a whole, and according to an aerial survey earlier this year, the saiga population in Kazakhstan now exceeds 1.9 million. The world's strangest-looking antelope remains critically endangered, but the direction of travel is positive.

Questions 1–7: Note Completion

Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1–7 on your answer sheet.

The saiga

Adaptations

• has a large bulbous nose with swollen nostrils that
  • keep 1 ____________ out
  • lower the temperature of its 2 ____________ in summer
  • warm the air entering its lungs in winter
• grows a thick 3 ____________ in winter, which it loses in spring

Reasons for population decline

• poaching, especially for the 4 ____________ of male saiga
• expansion of farms and settlements, causing reduction in the size of the saiga's 5 ____________
• loss of access to the 6 ____________ which they use for migration
• various forms of disease, leading to mass mortality events
• climate change, causing the disappearance of 7 ____________ which the saiga relied on

Questions 8–13: True / False / Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 8–13 on your answer sheet, write:

• TRUE — if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE — if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN — if there is no information on this

8. Today, numbers of saiga are distributed evenly across four nations in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

9. For most of the 20th century, the population of saiga were falling.

10. Efforts to protect rhinos in Africa had a significant effect on saiga populations.

11. Unpredictable fluctuations in climate are threatening the wildlife of Central Asia more than in other parts of the world.

12. The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative was formed for the benefit of a number of different animals.

13. The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative's recognition as a World Restoration Flagship project attracted additional international funding for the scheme.

Saving the Saiga Reading Answers

Finished the test? Here is the complete answer key.

Answer Explanations: Questions 1–7

1. dust The notes say the nostrils "keep ____ out." The passage states the swollen nostrils filter out dust — so the thing kept out is dust.

"they filter out dust and cool the blood during hot, dry summers…"

2. blood "Lower the temperature of its ____ in summer" is a paraphrase of "cool the blood." Cool = lower the temperature.

"filter out dust and cool the blood during hot, dry summers…"

3. coat "Grows a thick ____ in winter, which it loses in spring." The passage mentions a heavy winter coat that the saiga sheds (= loses) when the weather warms up.

"a heavy winter coat that the saiga sheds when the weather warms up."

4. horns "Poaching, especially for the ____ of male saiga." Males are targeted because their horns are prized in traditional medicine.

"Male saiga are a particular target, because their horns are highly prized…"

5. habitat "Reduction in the size of the saiga's ____." Agricultural expansion and human settlement cause loss of habitat.

"Another threat… is loss of habitat, as a result of agricultural expansion and human settlement."

6. routes "Loss of access to the ____ which they use for migration." Physical barriers block seasonal migration routes.

"barriers such as railways, pipelines and fences can block the seasonal migration routes…"

7. streams "Disappearance of ____ which the saiga relied on." The smaller streams the species depended on have dried up.

"many of the smaller streams that the species normally depended on have dried up and vanished."

Answer Explanations: Questions 8–13

8. FALSE The statement claims saiga are spread evenly across four nations. The passage says Kazakhstan holds well over 90% of the global population — the opposite of an even distribution. The text contradicts the statement.

"…home to well over 90% of the global saiga population, with Russia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan accounting for the rest."

9. FALSE The statement says numbers were falling for most of the 20th century. The passage says numbers steadily recovered throughout most of that century — a direct contradiction.

"…numbers steadily recovered throughout most of the 20th century."

10. TRUE Attempts to protect African rhinos led conservationists to promote saiga horns as a substitute, which drove poaching to epidemic levels — clearly a significant effect on saiga numbers.

"Poaching reached epidemic levels after… conservationists tried to relieve the pressure on threatened African rhinos by… encouraging the use of saiga horns…"

11. NOT GIVEN The passage confirms that climate fluctuations threaten the saiga, but it never compares Central Asia with other parts of the world. No comparison exists in the text, so there is no information to confirm or contradict this.

12. TRUE The Initiative's stated purpose is to protect ecosystems and "the many species they support" — not only the saiga. So it does benefit a number of different animals.

"…protect and restore Kazakhstan's… ecosystems and the many species they support, including the critically endangered saiga."

13. NOT GIVEN The passage confirms the UN recognition as a World Restoration Flagship project, but says nothing about that award attracting additional international funding. The claim is neither supported nor contradicted.

Tips to Score Higher on This Passage

Respect the word limit. Questions 1–7 say ONE WORD ONLY. Writing two words makes the answer wrong even if the meaning is right.

Hunt for the paraphrase, not the word. The notes reword the passage: "lower the temperature" = "cool," "loses" = "sheds," "farms and settlements" = "agricultural expansion and human settlement." Find the synonym and the answer sits right beside it.

Know the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN. FALSE means the passage says the opposite (Questions 8 and 9). NOT GIVEN means the passage simply doesn't mention it (Questions 11 and 13). If you can point at a sentence that contradicts the statement, choose FALSE. If you're reasoning from outside knowledge, it's almost always NOT GIVEN.

Watch for extra claims. Statements that add a comparison ("more than in other parts of the world") or a consequence ("attracted additional international funding") are classic NOT GIVEN traps. The topic appears in the passage; the specific claim does not.

Trust the order. Both question sets follow the order of the passage. If you found the answer to Question 10 in paragraph 4, Question 11 comes after it — don't waste time scanning backwards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the answers to Saving the Saiga IELTS Reading? 

he answers are: 1 dust, 2 blood, 3 coat, 4 horns, 5 habitat, 6 routes, 7 streams, 8 FALSE, 9 FALSE, 10 TRUE, 11 NOT GIVEN, 12 TRUE, 13 NOT GIVEN.

Why is Question 8 FALSE and not NOT GIVEN?

Because the passage gives specific information that contradicts the statement. It says Kazakhstan is home to well over 90% of all saiga, which makes an "even" distribution across four countries impossible.

Why is Question 13 NOT GIVEN?

The passage does mention the World Restoration Flagship recognition, but it never says the award brought in extra international funding. Since the text neither confirms nor denies it, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

How difficult is the Saving the Saiga passage?

It is a moderate-difficulty Academic Reading passage. The note completion questions are straightforward if you spot the paraphrases, while the True/False/Not Given section contains two well-disguised NOT GIVEN traps (Questions 11 and 13).

What band score does 13 out of 13 represent?

This is only one of three passages in the Reading test, so the band depends on your total out of 40. Scoring 13/13 here puts you on track for Band 8 or above if you maintain similar accuracy across the other two passages.

Final Word

The saiga's story is one of the most dramatic in modern conservation — from millions of animals, down to just 21,000 in the year 2000, and back above 1.9 million today. For IELTS purposes, it's also an excellent workout in two of the most common Reading skills: spotting paraphrases in note completion, and resisting the pull of outside knowledge in True/False/Not Given.

Found this useful? Try our other IELTS Academic Reading practice passages with full answer explanations.

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