What kind of animal is the Tibetan antelope?

Tibetan antelope, also known as Tibetan antelope and longhorn sheep, are Tibetan antelope animals of the Artiodactyla family. Most of them live on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China (Xizang, Qinghai, Gansu, *). A small number of them are distributed in the Ladakh region of India, which is known as "pride of Hoh Xil". It is a national first-class protected animal, and it is also an endangered animal listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Animals.

The Tibetan antelope has symmetrical and strong limbs, a short, pointed tail, a thick and dense coat, and a straight coat. There is also a small sac in each nostril, which is used to help breathe on the plateau where the air is thin. Male sheep head, neck, upper light brown, deep in summer and light in winter, abdomen white, forehead and four legs have eye-catching black spots, female sheep pure yellowish brown, abdomen white. The adult male horn is long and straight, the horn tip is slightly incurved, 50-60 cm, and the female is hornless. The life span of males is generally no more than 8 years, and that of females is generally no more than 12 years, and can be raised in captivity for nearly 10 years.

The Tibetan antelope lives at a height of 3500m to 5200m, especially in the no man's land of 4000m to 5000m. It usually lives in alpine meadow, alpine steppe, alpine steppe desert and alpine desert ecological environment mountain. It is mainly distributed in most parts of Xizang and Qinghai, as well as the southern margin of Sichuan, the northern corners of Sichuan and the southwest of Gannan, with a total area of about 88.5 square kilometers, between 37 degrees 17 minutes north latitude and 80 degrees 10 minutes to 99 degrees 50 minutes east longitude, and a small amount in northern India and Nepal.

The activities of the Tibetan antelope are very complex. Some Tibetan antelopes will live in one place for a long time, while others have the habit of migration. The activity patterns of female and male Tibetan antelope are different. Adult female Tibetan antelope and their female offspring migrate 300 kilometers from winter mating site to summer lambing site every year. The young male Tibetan antelope will leave the community and gather with other young or adult males until a mixed community is formed.

The main instinct of the Tibetan antelope to defend the enemy is to run. because of its strong and symmetrical limbs, it has the advantage of running at a speed of up to 70 kilometers per hour. Even the female Tibetan antelope that is pregnant and giving birth will run at a faster speed, which is rare among other herbivores. The wolf is the main natural enemy of the Tibetan antelope, often preying on the Tibetan antelope in the way of poor pursuit, and the young, old and injured Tibetan antelope are often killed by wolves. In addition, birds of prey such as vultures pose a great threat to the Tibetan antelope, especially the newborn Tibetan antelope.

The Tibetan antelope was listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1996 and endangered in 2000. It has been listed in Appendix I to the CITES since 1979. At the same time, it is under the first-level priority protection of China's Wildlife Protection Law, and hunting and trade are prohibited without permission. In India, trade in Tibetan antelopes is also prohibited under the Indian Wildlife (Conservation) Act, with the exception of zhaimo and Kashmir.