Skip to main content

Tibetan Antelope

Pantholops hodgsonii
Meet the Tibetan Antelope, or Chiru, a endangered ungulate that has been on a free-falling population decline over the past century.

Around 1900, it was estimated that there were over a million of the Antelope roaming about the Tibetan Plateau. Today, estimates are around 75,000 and falling. What has caused this species to decline in such a way? In short, habitat loss, competition from livestock, and shahtoosh.

Shahtoosh is the fine, soft wool that is unique to the Tibetan Antelope (it can be identified by the courser guard hairs in the fiber). Though the Antelope does don't need to die for the wool to be taken, poachers kill them anyway. Even though the animals are protected, the poaching continues and the population declines year after year.

The Tibetan Antelope is a shy animal, and it is (rightfully) wary of humans and other potential predators. They live in herds and are constantly on alert for danger, even digging shallow depressions in the ground when resting so that they are difficult to see. During the mating season males form harems with up to 20 females. They will defend the females, getting into fights with other males that can sometimes be fatal (due to their sharp horns that can grow 2ft long).
IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : Tibetan Plateau
Size : Shoulder height up to 32in (1.8m), Weight around 80lbs (36kg)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae -- Genus : Pantholops -- Species : P. hodgsonii
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more