The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

55
Conservation Area, towards the north of Mustang
and Manang district, bordering Tibet.
Distribution outside Nepal
China, India.
References
Suwal and Verheugt 1995, Wegge and Oli 1997, Reading et al. 2003, Tserenbataa et al. 2004, Chetri and
Pokhrel 2005, Fedonsenko and Blank 2005, Reading et al. 2005, Shrestha et al. 2005, Baral and Shah 2008,
Nepal Red List of Mammals Field Technicians Workshop 2010.
27) Pantholops hodgsonii (Abel, 1826)
Common Names
Tibetan Antelope (English); Chiru (Nepali)
Species Description
A woolly tan and grey winter coat with white
undercoat. Red-fawn summer coat. Dark
brown-black face and darker colours on front of
legs with a lighter colour on the back. Long, black
horns that grow upwards.
Species Ecology
The Tibetan Antelope occupies grassy open slopes
of steppe habitats of Tibetan plateau. Most
populations are highly migratory or nomadic,
moving hundreds of kilometres between summer
and winter ranges.
Tibetan Antelope reach sexual maturity at 18 to 30
months and give birth to a single young around
June or July after a gestation period of 183 to 198
days. The maximum life span of the Tibetan antelope
is estimated to be around 10 years.
Conservation Status
Global: Endangered
[Regionally Extinct in Nepal]
National: Data Deficient [Possibly Regionally Extinct]
Rationale for assessment: There is insufficient
information available to make an accurate
assessment of the extinction risk of this species
in Nepal. There have been no studies to confirm
whether this species still occurs in Nepal.
Legal Status
CITES Appendix I
Listed in the National Parks and Wildlife
Main Threats
• Competition with livestock.
• Poaching as a result of weak trans-boundary
security.
Conservation Act 2029 (1973) as protected priority
species.
National Population Size
There is no information available on the population
size or status of this species in Nepal. There have
been no recent observations of this species.