Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica tatarica) inhabit the sanctuary throughout the year with only occasional mass movements to the nearby Kalmykia. The whole population is only about 6,000 individuals. From the beginning of May to the middle of October,saigas are regularly seen near the artesian well situated 1.5 km away from the rangers' station. This well is used by saigas as a waterhole, mineral lick, resting place, and social arena. From the middle of May, females come there with their calves. Males often fight on open areas around the waterhole. In September male calves born this spring already have tiny horns and female calves born this spring are still smaller than adult females.
Therefore, it is easy to distinguish all four main sex-age categories (adult males, adult females, juvenile males, and juvenile females).
Since saiga is a nomadic species, we cannot guarantee you will be able to see it during your stay. However, the chances are high, and we suggest Stepnoi NS is the best place in the world to see wild saiga at close range.

Steppe wolves (Canis lupus campestris) can be seen at the waterhole. Sometimes a couple of adult wolves come to drink with their cubs. Wolves are even shyer than the saigas and the chances to see them are higher if you are very quiet in the hide. Red (Vulpes vulpes) and corsac foxes (Vulpes corsac) can sometimes visit the waterhole. Small mammals such as long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus), steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii), midday gerbil (Meriones meridianus), great jerboa (Allactaga major), northern three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta), thick-tailed three-toed jerboa (Stylodipus telum), social vole (Microtus socialis) and little ground squirrel (Spermophilus pygmaeus) can be seen when walking, spotlighting or using live traps. African wildcats (Felis lybica) are often captured on camera traps but are rarely seen when spotlighting.

While in autumn mammals are more visible (low dry grass) and more often show up during the day (not that hot), spring and the beginning of summer is a great time to see birds. Artesian well attracts many bird species which come to drink, feed and rest. Some of the regular visitors are, among others, pallid (Circus macrourus) and western marsh harriers (C. aeruginosus), long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus), demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo), pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) and various ducks and terns. More rare but possible are cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), red-throated pipit (Anthus cervinus), black-winged pratincole (Glareola nordmanni), Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis), calandra lark (Melanocorypha calandra), black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) and many more others.

Observations from a hide in front of an artesian well provide the best opportunity to see elusive saiga antelopes. The hide is approximately 2.4 metres long and 1.5 metres wide and can fit up to three people. While the hide is only 50 cm higher than the ground level, one can freely stay upright inside it because the main part of the hide is underground. Such construction minimizes the disturbance of saigas. Volunteers usually walk to the hide from the rangers' station (about 1.5 km) very early in the morning before the first light. From the hide, you can observe and photograph saiga. The main task they complete for saiga monitoring program is recording the sex and age of saiga antelopes visiting the artesian well and the type of their activity. All necessary information about how to record sex-age classes and activity types will be provided before the first session in the hide. In addition, volunteers record bird species seen near the well. In the middle of the day guests can go back to the accommodation to have rest and lunch, but to go out of the hide one should wait for a moment when there are no saigas around. In the late afternoon, the second session in the hide is possible. It is usually less successful for saiga observations, but other mammals and birds can be seen.
The data collected by volunteer groups throughout the year will be summarized and published in Saiga News Magazine - the Saiga Conservation Alliance's newsletter providing up-to-date information about saiga conservation and ecology. See saiga- conservation.org and saigaresourcecentre.com for more information.

Right near the rangers' station, there is a watching tower which provides great steppe views and can be used to see distant saiga aggregations. Morning and late afternoon walks through the steppe is a pleasurable experience. Guided walks can be organized to see birds and birds' nests, mammals' tracks and burrows and unique steppe vegetation. Sometimes it is possible to see saigas distantly. It is allowed to walk without a guide, but guests should inform the guide every time they go for a walk. Spotlighting can sometimes result in exciting encounters with rare species, but many night walks are unsuccessful. The visibility is mainly poor owing to high grass. Guided spotlighting walks can be organized. Right near the rangers' station, the visibility is better and some animals (gerbils, hedgehogs, polecats, foxes) are sometimes attracted by the organic waste pile. Here, very short spotlighting walks can be done several times every night. Live trapping of small mammals can be carried out (the success is very variable between the years). In addition, a camera trap will be installed near the artesian well to see who is visiting it at night) or near promising mammal burrows found during the walks.