Rare
Tibetan Antelope Listed As Endangered
The Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today
applauded a decision today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
list the Tibetan antelope, also known as "chiru," as an endangered
species. Through a series of expeditions to China's windswept Chang
Tang Reserve over the past two decades, WCS had played a key role
in sounding the alarm about the dramatic decline of this elegant
animal due to poaching.
The antelope's wool, considered the finest in the world, is used
for "shahtoosh" shawls (shahtoosh translates to "king of wool"),
which are sold in the black market for up to $15,000 each. In the
1980s and 1990s, smuggled shawls made their way to European and
U.S. markets, and became elite -- though highly illegal -- fashion
statements. With such a high price on its head, tens of thousands
of antelope have been slaughtered in recent years.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the Tibetan antelope
under the Endangered Species Act, reinforcing protection for an
animal already safeguarded under the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that the species,
including its parts and products, is prohibited from international
trade for commercial purposes. The listing, published in today's
Federal Register, takes effect April 28, 2006.
"With today's listing, the United States has made a real commitment
to helping ensure the future of this beautiful species," said Dr.
George Schaller of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "We commend
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its decision to provide even
more protection to the Tibetan antelope through the Endangered
Species Act, one of this country's most important environmental
laws."
Working with Chinese biologists, Dr. Schaller was the first western
scientists to document the biology of the chiru, which lives in the
isolated Tibetan plateau in China.
An upcoming National Geographic film will chronicle the plight of
the chiru, and the extraordinary enforcement efforts undertaken by
China to help eliminate poaching. The film premieres in New York
and Washington next month.
"As a mascot of the 2008 Olympics the world's attention is on the
chiru. With that, and its full protection, the vast herds of the
past could once again roam the Tibetan uplands," Dr. Schaller
said.
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Doesn't sound good, but at least, now that it is listed as an
endangered species, it will be protected. 
