Tibetan antelope

 

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Classification:

Description and Natural History

Physical Description
The Tibetan antelope, otherwise known as chiru, is fawn to reddish brown in color on the back, and beige or offwhite on the underside. Adult males have a striking black face, black markings on the legs, and long, lyre shaped horns used to defend their harems. Females do not have horns. The wooly underfur (“shahtoosh”) is very fine and is used to make wool. Adult females are about 75 centimeters (30 inches) tall and weigh 25-30 kilograms (55-66 pounds). Males average 80-85 centimeters (32-33 inches)at the shoulder and weigh 35-40 kilograms (77-88 pounds).

Natural History
Tibetan antelopes inhabit the Tibetan plateau of China (Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang), and some enter the Ladakh region of India. They inhabit areas at altitudes of 3,250-5,500 meters (10,662-18,045 feet), although they prefer flat to rolling terrain at about 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). These areas have annual temperatures below freezing and have short growing seasons.

Chiru movement is complex, and both resident and migratory populations exist. Female and male movement patterns are different. Adult females and their female offspring move up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) between winter mating grounds and summer calving grounds. Young males move from the herd and congregate with other young males, or adult males, until they eventually join a mixed herd.

Herd composition and size changes depending on the sex of the animals and the time of year. Females are thought to reach sexual maturity at about 1.5 or 2.5 years of age and give birth for the first time at 2 or 3 years of age after a 7-8 month gestation. Single calves are born in the second half of June and late July. During the mating season (rut) in late November or December, males form harems of 10-20 females that they attempt to guard.

Tibetan antelopes can reach speeds of up to 80 km/hr (50 miles/hr) and probably live about 8 years.

The total population was estimated to number 75,000 in 1995, down from an estimated 1 million in 1900. They used to be found in herds of 15,000 or more but now live in much smaller aggregations.

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Status of the Species

Status
The Tibetan antelope was listed in 1996 as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This listing was upgraded to Endangered in 2000. The species has also been listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1979. Chiru are given local protection by China under its Wildlife Protection Law which prohibits hunting and trade (without permission). Trade is also prohibited in India under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, except for two states, Jammu and Kashmir, which are afforded special status.

Threats to the Species
Historically, chiru were hunted by Tibetans for subsistence purposes. Today, poaching of Tibetan antelopes for their wool (shahtoosh) is the primary threat. This wool is obtained by killing the animal and plucking the hide. Shahtoosh is considered one of the finest animal fibres in the world and numerous antelopes are killed to produce enough wool for just one shawl.

The wool is smuggled from Tibet China to Jammu and Kashmir in India where it is legal to weave shawls and scarves, although it is still illegal to export them.

While shahtoosh shawls have been used as dowry items in India for centuries, the western fashion craze caused increased poaching during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Estimates of 20,000 Tibetan antelopes being killed annually for commercial shahtoosh have been recorded. Some horns are also taken for use in the traditional medicine market.

Underfunded rangers have the difficult task of patrolling huge areas where the chiru range. For the conservation of the chiru, it is imperative that westerners be discouraged from purchasing shahtoosh, thereby ending the poaching of the Tibetan antelope. Also, management and monitoring recommendations made by different groups interested in protecting chiru and their habitat, must be implemented.

Other threats include encroachment by humans and their livestock, interference (e.g. fencing or livestock grazing) with chiru migrations and movements, and extraction activities in chiru habitat.

International Trade
 Listed on Appendix I of CITES which bans international trade of Tibetan antelopes, their parts and derivatives.

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Authors and Sources

Sources
CITES.  2001.  Tibetan antelope.  http://www.cites.org.

IUCN.  2001.  The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  http://www.redlist.org.

Massicot, P.  2001.  Chiru (Tibetan Antelope).  http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/panthodg.htm.

Tibetan Plateau Project.  2001.  Tibetan Antelope.

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