Not to be confused with the Tibetan gazelle or goa, a true antelope.
"Chiru" redirects here. For other uses, see Chiru (disambiguation).
Tibetan antelope
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
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)
The Tibetan antelope or chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)[4] (Tibetan: གཙོད་, Wylie: gtsod, pronounced [tsǿ]; Chinese: 藏羚羊; pinyin: zànglíngyáng[5]) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan 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 1980s and 1990s, they had become endangered due to massive illegal poaching. They are hunted for their extremely soft, light and warm underfur which is usually obtained after death. This underfur, known as shahtoosh (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 and CITES[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 the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve (also known as Kekexili) solely to protect the Tibetan antelope population.
^ ab"Pantholops hodgsonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group: e.T15967A50192544. 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15967A50192544.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^Hodgson, B. (22 July 1834). "[July 22, 1834 // William Yarrell, Esq., in the chair]". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (meeting minutes). 2: 81. A letter was read, addressed to Mr. Vigours by B.H. Hodgson, ...
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chiru" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.
^"【藏羚羊】 zànglíngyáng". A Dictionary of Current Chinese (7 ed.). 2016. p. 1633.
^"Tibetan antelope". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
The Tibetanantelope or chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) (Tibetan: གཙོད་, Wylie: gtsod, pronounced [tsǿ]; Chinese: 藏羚羊; pinyin: zànglíngyáng) is a medium-sized...
chinkara, blackbuck, Tibetanantelope, and four-horned antelope, while Russia and Central Asia have the Tibetanantelope and saiga. No antelope species is native...
of the Tibetan Plateau very quickly compared with other mammals such as the yak, Tibetanantelope, snow leopard, and the wild boar. The Tibetan mastiff's...
include sheep and goats, with some other members referred to as goat antelopes. Some earlier taxonomies considered Caprinae a separate family called...
obtained from the fur of the chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii, also called Tibetanantelope). Also, shawls made from the wool of the chiru are called shahtoosh...
studies in the 1990s revealed that though morphologically similar, the Tibetanantelope is closer to the Caprinae while the saiga is closer to the Antilopinae...
Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope and prairie antelope, because it...
The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is a large antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South...
blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and...
regularly compete with other grazing species for pasture, including Tibetanantelope, bharal, Thorold's deer and wild yaks. Competition is most serious...
called Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: bri, Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: dri or Tibetan: གནག, Wylie: g.nag in Tibetan and Tibetan: ཧཡག་མོ་, Wylie: hYag-mo in Balti....
A grazing antelope is any of the species of antelope that make up the subfamily Hippotraginae or tribe Hippotragini of the family Bovidae. As grazers,...
Oryx (/ˈɒrɪks/ ORR-iks) is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the...
lizards. It also scavenges on the carcasses of Tibetanantelopes, musk deer, blue sheep and livestock. Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters...
The springbok or springbuck (Antidorcas marsupialis) is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas...
is a serious concern in the Yellowstone Park bison herd. Bison in the Antelope Island bison herd are regularly inoculated against brucellosis, parasites...
oryx), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a large-sized savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. An adult male...
a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa. It is found in a wide range of habitats, such as...
The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a large savanna-dwelling antelope found in western, central, and southern Africa. Named for its roan colour...
lowland nyala or simply nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus...
the various Asian rhinoceros species, various antelope species (such as nilgai, four-horned antelope, blackbuck, and Indian gazelle in India), and wild...
walleri), also known as the giraffe gazelle, is a long-necked, medium-sized antelope found in parts of East Africa. The sole member of the genus Litocranius...
Portuguese bufalo (water buffalo), which comes from Latin bufalus (an antelope, gazelle, or wild ox), from Greek boubalos. From the same Greek word boubalos...
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