Pantholops Hodgsonii (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)

Abstract

Pantholops hodgsonii (Abel, 1826) is a bovid commonly called the chiru or Tibetan antelope. Pantholops is monotypic. This species inhabits high-elevation alpine and desert steppe with flat to rolling terrain in the Tibetan Plateau and only recently has been studied in any detail. At least 5 populations of P. hodgsonii are migratory, some moving up to 300 400 km; others are nonmigratory. This species is endangered because of exploitation and competition with domestic livestock of pastoralists; extant populations probably number about 100,000. It is virtually unknown in zoos, but young have been born and orphans have been reared successfully in a 200-ha fenced enclosure in native habitat.