Chiru

• Poaching cut the population from hundreds of thousands to barely 50,000 by 2003.
• It grazes grasses and sedges adapted to extreme altitude.
• It lives on the alpine and desert steppe of the Tibetan Plateau, at 3,250-5,500 m.
• conservaciónIts fine underwool, shahtoosh, has long been highly prized, which has driven intense poaching despite the species being protected.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat and environment

Alpine and desert steppe of the Tibetan Plateau, at 3,250-5,500 m

Birth weight

Born precocial

Size at birth

Born precocial

Sexual maturity

1.5-2.5 years

Gestation / incubation

6-8 months

Litter / clutch size

1 young per birth

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web (chiru); Wikipedia (Tibetan antelope); Know Your Mammals; Simply Birding; CMS; PMC (genetic diversity Ladakh study); PMC (microsatellite loci post-bottleneck study); Oxford Academic (Mammalian Species)

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.