Chiru or Tibetan Antelope : Pantohlops hodgsoni

The Chiru is remarkable for its swollen snout. The muzzle is peculiarly swollen in the male. It is suggested that this inflation of the nose may have some connection with high altitude at which the Chiru live. Each nostril is furnished inside with a large lateral chamber or sac whose function may assist in breathing the rarefied atmosphere of high altitude. The face is brown or at times nearly black. Another peculiarity of Chiru is the unusual development of the inguinal or groin gland. Perhaps the function of these glands is to sent the ground and so indicate to other individual of a herd the place where one of them has rested.

The female Chiru is without horns but those of male are long and straight with a slight forward. The horns are about 2 feet in length. They are glossy black in color and heavily notched in front. The knots perhaps indicating the age of the animal. Bigger horns are also been reported the biggest on record from Ladakh is 25 inches long the tail is short and hairy. The two sexes usually keep aloof except during the mating season.
The favorite habitat of Chiru is the grassy flat of the Chang-chenmo valley but the handsome animal is also found higher up the grassy streams beds of Lingzitang and Aksai-chin and some of high valleys containing the tributaries of Shayok.
Known as Rtsos or Tsros in Ladakh the animal is one of the most cherished animal by the hunters as the most expensive shawl in the world Shahtoos is made from the under fleece or Pashm of the animal.
A fly the Bot fly, which buries deep into the skin and lays eggs there pesters Chiru. When their eggs hatches the wriggling of the pupas makes the animal mad with discomfort. The pestered animal runs here and there at a great speed and rolls over and avers again in sand and scree to scratch his body to relieve the pain, Thus shedding some of winter coat of hair. Its indeed a curious irony that this soft any silky wool which is so highly prized by man is so useless to this animal in summer that he has to under go all the pain and exertion to get rid f it. Chiru is also killed for his flesh, which is considered as delicacy, and while the animal head constituted a prize trophy, his skin used to make ladies coat and his hairs in upholstery.

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