The crew was filming on the calving grounds in the Central Asia location, witnessing thousands of antelope give birth when disease swept and wiped out an overwhelming number of the animal.
Members of the TV crew filming the ‘Grasslands’ episode – which airs this Sunday at 8pm – were left heartbroken, however, after they witnessed the mass death of 150,000 antelope over three days.
Planet Earth II, fronted by David Attenborough, has been an immense hit for BBC1 racking up views of well over 9 million.
So far this series, there have been reptile races, golden eagles and lion-kicking giraffes but the next episode of Planet Earth II will head to Kazakhstan as the microscope is placed on Saiga antelope.