Tschiru
| Tschiru | ||||||||||||
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Tschiru male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Pantholops | ||||||||||||
| Hodgson , 1834 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Pantholops hodgsonii | ||||||||||||
| ( Abel , 1826) |
The Tschiru ( Pantholops hodgsonii ), also known as Orongo or Tibetan antelope , is a deer-sized representative of the goat-like (Caprini) within the subfamily of the Antilopinae , which lives in the highlands of Tibet .
features
Tschirus reach a head body length of 130 to 140 centimeters, the tail is about 10 centimeters long, the shoulder height is 75 to 95 centimeters. The weight of the males is around 36 to 55 kilograms, the females are significantly lighter at 25 to 30 kilograms. The fur is very dense and woolly, it is predominantly yellow-brown in color. The chin and belly are whitish, the front of the legs and the face are dark brown to black in color. The legs are relatively slim. The walnut-sized, inflatable nasal bags that protrude from the nostrils are unique. Only the males have horns: these are thin, almost vertically protruding spikes and are around 50 to 70 centimeters long.
distribution and habitat
Tschirus inhabit the highlands of Tibet . They occur in the Chinese provinces of Tibet Autonomous Region , southern Xinjiang , western Sichuan and southern Qinghai . They also live in the northern Indian region of Ladakh . Their habitat are highland steppes like the Changthang region at altitudes of 3700 to 5500 meters.
Way of life
Tschirus go looking for food mainly in the morning and evening. They are herbivores that feed on grasses and herbs. They retire to rest in hollows up to 30 centimeters deep, which they create themselves and in which they are protected from the strong wind. In addition, these hollows offer a certain level of privacy from robbers.
The females form groups of 10 to 15 animals with the young, the males live solitary outside of the mating season. During the rut, the males try to gain control over a group of females. They fight aggressively with their horns against rivals. These fights are brutal and sometimes end in the death of one or even both opponents. The males jealously guard the females at this time and drive them back should they want to leave the group.
After a gestation period of around seven to eight months, a young animal is born in June or July - twins are rare.
For a few years, some Tschiruses have been kept in enclosures for breeding in order to accelerate the recovery of the population in parallel to the animal welfare measures on site.
Tschirus and people
Chirus were once among the most common animals in Tibet. They populated the alpine steppes by the hundreds of thousands. The IUCN leads the way since 2000 as endangered ( endangered ). The chiru is traditionally hunted to obtain shahtoosh wool from the fur . The wool, considered to be particularly warm, is often used to make luxurious scarves. Three to five Tibetan antelopes are killed for the wool of a single shawl. For him, however, it is particularly fatal that the horns of the male are considered to have a beneficial effect in traditional Chinese medicine . In both China and India, the chiru is strictly protected today. In 1998 the total population was estimated at 75,000, down from about a million in the 1950s. In China, the poachers have been stopped according to official information.
In 2004, the fight against poachers who hunt for chirus make the subject of a successful Chinese film Kěkěxīlǐ "可可西里" ( Engl. : Mountain Patrol). The Chinese title is the name of the Hoh Xil region on the highlands on the border between Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang, where the largest herds are found.
One of the five mascots for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing - Yingying (迎 迎) - was a chiru.
Systematics
The Tschiru is classified within the artifacts in the family of hornbeams (Bovidae). The systematic position within the hornbeams was, however, not clear for a long time. He was alternately placed with the gazelle- like , the goat-like , as a close relative of the saiga or even in a separate subfamily Pantholopinae. New molecular genetic studies show that the goat-like classification is probably correct. Here it is phylogenetically considered a sister group of the other goat-like species.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Web links
- Information on ultimateungulate.com
- Photos and information on arkive.org
- Kekexili (Mountain Patrol) in the Internet Movie Database
- Pantholops hodgsonii in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Mallon, 2003. Retrieved on 11 May, 2006.
Individual evidence
- ^ P. Sun, HH Yu, XQ Zhao, DH Wang: Adaptation of vigilance behavior in ex situ conservation of Tibetan antelope. In: Dongwuxue Yanjiu (2011), Volume 32 (5), pp. 561-5. doi : 10.3724 / SP.J.1141.2011.05561 (currently not available) . PMID 22006811 .