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'It was emotionally devastating'

Planet Earth crew watch in horror as 150,000 antelope drop dead in front of them over three days

'At the time we thought we were watching the greatest natural catastrophe that I’d ever heard of'

THE TV crew working on Planet Earth II were left "emotionally devastated" after watching 150,000 antelope killed off by disease in three days.

The crew thought they had witnessed the final extinction of the species while filming at calving grounds in Kazakhstan, Central Asia.

To prevent any possible crossover of pathogens from dead saiga to other wildlife or to domestic livestock, government teams collected and buried saiga carcasses
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Hundreds of antelope carcasses piled up to be buried after outbreak of the diseaseCredit: FAO/Sergei Khomenko

Fans of the David Attenborough series will watch scenes featuring the saiga antelope on Sunday.

Chadden Hunter, producer of the Grasslands episode, told how he thought he was watching one of the "greatest natural catastrophes" he'd ever heard of.

Dr Steffen Zuther, saiga ecology expert with the Association for Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan, examining a dying female saiga.
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 Dr Steffen Zuther, saiga ecology expert with the Association for Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan, examining a dying female saiga.Credit: FAO/Sergei Khomenko
The crew were devastated to watch so many of the animals die
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The crew were devastated to watch so many of the animals dieCredit: Getty Images

He said: “When we were out there in the calving grounds, with hundreds of thousands of females all giving birth at the same time, a very ­virulent disease swept through the population and killed around 150,000 of them in a matter of three days.

“At the time we thought we were watching the greatest natural catastrophe that I’d ever heard of. We watched 150,000 of these magnificent animals die in front of us.

"At the time we didn’t know if it was the final extinction of the species, which was devastating, emotionally, for the crew."

The crew were devastated to watch so many of the animals die
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Around 150,000 antelopes died from the disease in three daysCredit: Alamy

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Filmmakers had trekked deep into the middle of Kazakhstan for days to find the calving herds.

Hunter described seeing the animals that "look like they are from another planet" as "incredible".

But, despite the mass death, the species has not been wiped out.

Saiga antelope with a baby grazes next to carcasses of dead antelopes
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Saiga antelope with a baby grazes next to carcasses of dead antelopes (file photo)Credit: Reuters
Fans of the David Attenborough series will be able to watch herds of the antelope in Sunday's episode
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Fans of the David Attenborough series will be able to watch herds of the antelope in Sunday's episodeCredit: BBC

Hunter said: "We’ve since heard that the last few mothers and babies we filmed have survived. It was a potent reminder of how fragile yet resilient nature can be.".

Planet Earth II has been a huge hit for BBC1.

On Sunday 9.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the desert episode, more than ITVs X Factor.

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