Chiru Factsheet
Pantholops hodgsoni
Also called Tibetan antelope, chiru resemble gazelles but are most closely related to wild goats and sheep.
Distribution: Chiru survive on the Tibetan Plateau across Tibet and adjacent parts of China and into Ladakh in northwest India.
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.
Reproduction: Leaving males behind, herds of females migrate to calving grounds to give birth to a single baby in June or July. Mating occurs in late November and December, when males fight—sometimes to the death—to guard harems of ten to 20 females.
Longevity: Infant mortality rates seem to be quite high: As many as two-thirds of young do not survive their first year. Adults may live to eight years of age.
Threats: Apart from rampant poaching for their exquisite wool, the chiru’s future is threatened by an influx of pastoralists and other settlers into their habitat. Livestock compete with chiru for grazing land, and fences disrupt migration. Oil drilling and gold mining pose additional problems in chiru habitat.
