Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan RegionSummer 2004 |
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Lucinda Kanczuzewski |
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THE TIBETAN ANTELOPE (CHIRU) The Tibetan antelope, or chiru, is mainly found on the alpine steppe of northwest Tibet, where the Chang Tang Reserve is located. Chiru can be found from the Ladakh area in India to the Qinghai province in China. It weighs between 60 to 90 pounds, and lives at elevations of 10,660 to 18,000 feet. Chiru herds of more than 15,000 animals were seen in the early 1900's, but poaching has decimated the population.The female chiru first give birth at the age of two to three years. They generally give birth to one calf in June or July. The chiru have distinct movement patterns. Some females reside on the winter grounds year-round, while other female populations migrate approximately 200 miles north to remote calving grounds to give birth. They return to the winter grounds in August. Males may choose to travel, but never as far as the females, and some remain on the winter grounds year-round. The chiru are exceptionally attractive to poachers because of the exquisite wool that can be woven from their fur. This wool is called shahtoosh, which means "king of wool" in Persian. A 4' by 6'shawl made from shahtoosh weighs only 4 ounces, and can cost up to $15,000 in New York. Three to five animals must be slaughtered to produce enough wool for one scarf. Kashmir resisted efforts to ban shahtoosh trade, so in 1998 the Wildlife Protection Society of India sued the governments of Jammu and Kashmir to force compliance with international agreements to cease shawl production. In May of 2002 Kashmir passed a law banning the trade of shahtoosh. As international pressure mounts, the Kashmiri people dependent on shahtoosh manufacture for their livelihood will be forced to return to processing goat cashmere. Since goats are a domesticated animal, reliance on their fur does not create stress in the ecosystem. Ridgeway, Rick. "Galen
Rowell's Final Trek," National Geographic, April, 2003, 104-123.
Animal Info-Chiru (Tibetan Antelope) |
This site was created by Lucinda Kanczuzewski at the NEH Summer Institute "Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region," held at the College of the Holy Cross, Summer 2004 |
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