A rare Tibetan antelope with long spiral horns, also called the Tibetan antelope or Pantholops hodgsonii.
From Tibetan language, the native name of this Himalayan animal. The word entered English from direct contact with Tibetan communities and scientific classification of Asian fauna.
The chiru has become an endangered species tragedy—poachers have decimated populations to make shahtoosh shawls, so expensive that one shawl requires 2-3 chirus' wool; it's a heartbreaking example of how beautiful animals suffer for fashion!
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