| Tibetan antelope | |
|---|---|
_Pantholops_hodgsoni.png) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Tribe: | Pantholopini |
| Genus: | Pantholops Hodgson, 1834[3] |
| Species: | P. hodgsonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Pantholops hodgsonii (Abel, 1826) | |
 | |
TheTibetan antelope orchiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)[4] (Tibetan:གཙོད་,Wylie:gtsod, pronounced[tsǿ];Chinese:藏羚羊;pinyin:zànglíngyáng[5]) is a medium-sizedbovid native to the northeasternTibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in the high altitude plains, hill plateau and montane valley. Fewer than 150,000 mature individuals are left in the wild, but the population is currently thought to be increasing.[1]
In the 1980s and the 1990s, they had become endangered due to massive illegalpoaching. They are hunted for their extremely soft, light and warm underfur which is usually obtained after death. This underfur, known asshahtoosh (a Persian word meaning "king of fine wools"), is used to weave luxury shawls. Shahtoosh shawls were traditionally given as wedding gifts in India and it takes the underfur of three to five adult antelopes to make one shawl. Despite strict controls on trade of shahtoosh products andCITES[2] listing, there is still demand for these luxury items. Within India, shawls are worth $1,000–$5,000; internationally the price can reach as high as $20,000.[6] In 1997 the Chinese government established theHoh Xil National Nature Reserve (also known as Kekexili) solely to protect the Tibetan antelope population.
The Tibetan antelope is thesole species in thegenusPantholops, named after the Greek for "all antelope". It was formerly classified in the then-subfamilyAntilopinae (now thought to be the tribe Antilopini), but morphological and molecular evidence led to it being placed in its ownsubfamily,Pantholopinae, closely allied togoat-antelopes of the then-subfamily Caprinae.[7] However, this has been disputed,[8] and most authorities now consider the Tibetan antelope to be a true member of the Caprinae, or the tribe Caprini.[9] Phylogenetic evidence indicates thatPantholops is the most basal member of the Caprinae / Caprini, and belongs to its own tribe or subtribe,Pantholopini orPantholopina.[10]
Although the genusPantholops is currently monotypic, a fossil species,P. hundesiensis, is known from thePleistocene of Tibet. It was slightly smaller than the living species, with a narrower skull.[11] In addition, the fossil genusQurliqnoria, from theMiocene of China, is thought to be an early member of the Pantholopini,[12] which diverged from the goat-antelopes around this time.[13]
The Tibetan antelope is a medium-sized antelope, with a shoulder height of about 83 cm (32+1⁄2 in) in males, and 74 cm (29 in) in females. Males are significantly larger than females, weighing about 39 kg (86 lb), compared with 26 kg (57 lb), and can also be readily distinguished by the presence of horns and by black stripes on the legs, both of which the females lack. Thecoat is pale fawn to reddish-brown, with a whitish belly, and is particularly thick and woolly. The face is almost black in colour, with prominent nasal swellings that have a paler colour in males. In general, the colouration of males becomes more intense during the annualrut, with the coat becoming much paler, almost white, contrasting with the darker patterns on the face and legs.[13]
The males have long, curved-back horns that typically measure 54 to 60 cm (21 to 24 in) in length. The horns are slender, with ring-like ridges on their lower portions and smooth, pointed, tips. Although the horns are relatively uniform in length, there is some variation in their exact shape, so the distance between the tips can be quite variable, ranging from19 to 46 cm (7+1⁄2 to 18 in). Unlikecaprines, the horns do not grow throughout life. The ears are short and pointed, and the tail is also relatively short, at around 13 cm (5 in) in length.[13]
The fur of Tibetan antelopes is distinctive, and consists of longguard hairs and a silky undercoat of shorter fibres. The individual guard hairs are thicker than those of other goats, with unusually thin walls, and have a unique pattern of cuticular scales, said to resemble the shape of abenzene ring.[14]
Endemic to theTibetan Plateau, the Tibetan antelope inhabits openalpine and coldsteppe environments between 3,250 and 5,500 m (10,660 and 18,040 ft) elevation. They prefer flat, open terrain, with sparse vegetation cover. They are found almost entirely in China, where they inhabitTibet, southernXinjiang, and westernQinghai; a few are also found across the border inLadakh, India. The westernmost population of Tibetan antelope is inDepsang Plains, where they are found at altitudes of up to 5500 m. Today, the majority are found within theChang Tang Nature Reserve of northern Tibet. The first specimens to be described, in 1826, were fromNepal; the species has apparently since beenextirpated from the region.[1] No subspecies are recognised. Zhuonai Lake (卓乃湖) inHoh Xil is known as a calving ground for the Tibetan antelope.[15][16][17]
A special adaptation of the species to its high altitude habitat is the retention of thefetal version of hemoglobin even in adult animals, which provides higher oxygen affinity. The Tibetan antelope is the only species of mammal where this adaptation has been documented.[18][19]
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The Tibetan antelope feeds onforbs,grasses, andsedges, often digging through the snow to obtain food in winter. Their natural predators includewolves,lynx,snow leopards, andred foxes are known to prey on young calves.[13][20]
Tibetan antelope are gregarious, sometimes congregating in herds hundreds strong when moving between summer and winter pastures, although they are more usually found in much smaller groups, with no more than 20 individuals.[13] The females migrate up to 300 km (200 mi) yearly to calving grounds in the summer, where they usually give birth to a single calf, and rejoin the males at the wintering grounds in late autumn.[21]
Therutting season lasts from November to December. Males form harems of up to 12 females, although one to four is more common, and drive off other males primarily by making displays or chasing them with head down, rather than sparring directly with their horns. Courtship and mating are both brief, without most of the behaviour typically seen in other antelope species, although males do commonly skim the thighs of females with a kick of their fore legs.[13]
Mothers give birth to a single calf in June or July, after agestation period of about six months. The calves areprecocial, being able to stand within 15 minutes of birth. They are fully grown within 15 months, and reach sexual maturity during their second or third year. Although females may remain with their mothers until they themselves give birth, males leave within 12 months, by which time their horns are beginning to grow. Males determine status by their relative horn length, with the maximum length being achieved at around three and a half years of age.[13]
Although the lifespan of Tibetan antelopes is not known with certainty, since so few have been kept in captivity,[22] it is probably around 10 years.[13]
Since 1979, Tibetan antelope has had legal protection under theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Killing, harming or trading in the animal is illegal worldwide, as more than 160 countries are CITES signatories.[23] It also used to be listed as Endangered by theWorld Conservation Union and theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service due to commercial poaching for their underwool, competition with local domesticated herds, and the development of their rangeland for gold mining. Tibetan antelopes' underfur (down hair), being extremely soft, fine and warm, is known asshahtoosh and has traditionally been woven by craftsmen and women inKashmir into shawls in high demand in India as girls' dowry and in Europe as a symbol of wealth and status. Such demands resulted in massive illegal poaching in the second half of the 20th century. In consequence, the population of this species has suffered a severe decline from nearly a million (estimated) at the turn of the 20th century to less than 75,000 in the 1990s.[1] Although formerly affected by poaching, it is now among the best safeguarded wildlife in the Tibetan Plateau, thanks to effective conservation efforts by the Chinese government since late 1990s.[24] A 2009 assessment estimated an increased population of 150,000.[1] The struggle to stop illegal antelope hunting was portrayed in the 2004 film,Kekexili: Mountain Patrol. In September 2016, Tibetan antelop has been reclassified on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list from Endangered to Near Threatened due to the increased population.[1]
To develop testing forshahtoosh, a Hong Kong chemist and a senior forensic specialist looked at the material though a microscope. Using this method, they discoveredshahtoosh contains coarser guard hairs unique to the species. By doing this, the duo had found a convenient way to prove this was poached material.[citation needed]
In July 2006, the Chinese government inaugurated a new railway that bisects the chiru's feeding grounds on its way toLhasa, theTibetan capital. In an effort to avoid harm to the animal, 33 special animal migration passages have been built beneath the railway. However, the railway will bring many more people, including potential poachers, closer to Tibetan antelope's breeding grounds and habitat.[citation needed]
On 22 February 2008,The Wall Street Journal reported China's state-run news agency,Xinhua, issued a public apology for publishing adoctored photograph of Tibetan antelope running near theQinghai-Tibet Railway. Liu Weiqing, a 41-year-old photographer, was identified as the author of the work. He had reportedly camped on the Tibetan plateau since March 2007, as part of a series by theDaqing Evening News, to raise awareness regarding the Tibetan bovid. He was also under contract to provide images to Xinhua. He has since resigned fromDaqing Evening News.[25] Researchers of theChinese Academy of Sciences wrote in a 17 April 2008 letter toNature, that despite the impression given by the faked photo, the antelopes are getting used to the railway.[26]
In the Karakoram regions ofPakistan-administered Kashmir it is listed as an endangered species.[citation needed]
A letter was read, addressed to Mr. Vigours by B.H. Hodgson, ...
It is clear that there has been reported migration and exchange of individuals towards the western part in its range, but habitat suitability analysis is needed for a better understanding of the reasons for lack of major exchange of individuals between the westernmost (Depsang Plains close to DBO in northern Ladakh and Aksi Chin near Kunlun range) and other populations.
Chiru is a keystone species and world's hardiest mountain ungulates that can survive in temperatures as low as −40 °C. Most of their distribution range falls above 4,000 m, and in Depsang Plains in northern Ladakh, they can be found as high as 5500 m.
