📸 PhotoPhoto: 6-A04-W96-K38-S41-V38 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Chiru
Pantholops hodgsonii (Chiru · チルー)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Animal Diversity Web notes that this antelope's wool, called shahtoosh, is extremely valuable.
- 💡 Its habitat elevation of 4300–6000 m is more than twice the height of Hallasan in Korea (about 1950 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 A weight of 40 kg equals two 20 kg bags of rice (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Chiru is an antelope living on dry alpine plains of northwestern Tibet where annual precipitation is less than 16 inches.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its coat is beige, gray, or whitish with black markings on the face and legs. Only males have long, straight horns, whereas females are hornless.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
A grazing herbivore whose migration routes vary by season, males form harems of 10–20 females during the breeding season, and gestation lasts 7–8 months.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List NT (2016) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15967/50192544
- • IUCN Red List category NT — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006210
- • iucnredlist.org — 50192544
- • wikidata.org — Q272293
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Atilope du Tibet.png
- • animaldiversity.org — Pantholops hodgsonii
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Jiekun He · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.