Scientific Name: Pantholops hodgsonii
Common Names: Tibetan Antelope, chiru
Other Names:Â Tsod (Tibetan)
Habitat: Among the world’s most cold-hardy mammals, chiru live on windswept plateau steppes at elevations from 11,000 to 18,000 feet where average annual temperatures are below freezing. Daily temperatures may drop as low as –40 degrees F. Chiru rest in shallow depressions that may offer some protection from wind and cold. Other mammals living in this habitat include wild yak, argali sheep, wild ass, and brown bear.
Diet: Chiru eat grasses and herbs.
Size: Standing less that three feet at the shoulder and stretching about four and half feet from nose to tail, chiru weigh between 55 and 100 pounds. Females are smaller and lighter than males, which sport slender, backward curving horns about 20 inches long.
Range: Inhabits the Tibet Plateau. P. hodgsonii has disappeared from much of the eastern part of its former range due to hunting, expansion of domestic livestock herding, fencing of rangeland and economic development. The main stronghold of the species is in the remote Chang Tang area of northwestern Tibet.
Population: Population estimates are based on general extrapolations. Severe decline in numbers agreed by all authors due to illegal hunting for the underfur (shahtoosh).
Threats: The principal threat to the survival of the Tibetan antelope is organized, illegal poaching carried out by Hui and Han migrants, as well as Chinese locals in chiru habitat, which is causing critical overutilization of the species to supply the shahtoosh trade. Other threats to the chiru and its habitat include fencing , which interfere with chiru migration and foraging; extractive activities, including oil drilling and gold mining; and increasing human settlement.
