noun
definition
The Tibetan antelope, Pantholops hodgsonii.
Examples of chiru in a Sentence
More or less nearly related to the saiga is the chiru, Pantholops hodgsoni, of Tibet, characterized by the long upright black horns of the bucks, and the less convex nose, in which the nostrils open anteriorly instead of downwards.
Although far from uncommon, chiru are very wary, and consequently difficult to approach.
The most peculiar feature about the chiru is, however, its swollen, puffy nose, which is probably connected with breathing a highly rarefied atmosphere.
A second antelope inhabiting the same country as the chiru is the goa (Gazella picticaudata), a member of the gazelle group characterized by the peculiar form of the horns of the bucks and certain features of coloration, whereby it is markedly distinguished from all its kindred save one or two other central Asian species.
The chiru, which belongs to the typical or antilopine section of antelopes, is probably allied to the saiga.
As it lacks the thick woolly coat of the two Tibetan antelopes known as the chiru and the goa, there can be little doubt that it inhabits a country with a less severe climate than that of the Central Tibetan plateau, and it is probably a native of the more or less wooded districts of comparatively low elevation forming the outskirts of Tibet.