Tibetan Antelope Recovering

The Tibetan antelope--once the target of rampant poaching--may be increasing in numbers due to a combination of better enforcement and a growing conservation ethic in local communities.

Returning from a recent 1,000-mile expedition across Tibet's remote Chang Tang region, George Schaller, a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologist took an eight-week journey in a remarkably uninhabited region.

There, Schaller, along with other researchers, counted nearly 9,000 Tibetan antelope or chiru, more than expected.  This may indicate an increase in some places for this endangered species.  At the same time, the team witnessed no direct evidence of the widespread poaching that was evident just a few years ago. 

"China has made a major effort to control poaching," Schaller said.  "The large poaching gangs of the 1990s, which were at times arrested with 600 or more chiru hides largely ceased to exist.

Tibetan antelope produce the finest wool in the world, known as shahtoosh, which translates to "king of wool."  Beginning in the late 1980s, shahtoosh shawls became fashionable in Europe and the U.S., which fueled a black market and widespread poaching in this remote area. 

In the mid 1990s, Schaller estimated that perhaps 75,000 chiru remained in the wild, with as many as 20,000 falling to poachers annually.  However, no comprehensive census of chiru has ever taken place due to a sprawling range that spans more than 250,000 square miles.

The researchers also counted more than 1,000 wild yak, a relatively high number for a species that's far more endangered than the chiru, due to hunting and hybridization with domestic yak.  The group saw an increase in wild asses, too, though they are persecuted by nomads who believe they compete with livestock for grass.

Schaller noted that some nomadic communities living in the Chang Tang region have made concerted efforts to safeguard their wildlife and have established local wildlife preserves to protect populations of wild yak and other wildlife.

The journey traversed the entire northern Chang Tang region, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in over a century, when in 1896 two British army officers made the journey on horseback. 

---LiveScience Staff

• Amazing Images: Photos You Submit
• Image Galleries: Science All Around You
• Videos: Science and Nature in Action

Credit: WCS