20-02-2019
The Tibetan antelope's activities are very complicated. Some Tibetan antelopes will live in a place for a long time, and some have migratory habits. Even large groups of thousands Tibetan antelopes can be seen during the migration season. The female and the male Tibetan antelope have different activity patterns. The adult female Tibetan antelope and their female descendants would travel about 300km each year from the mating area to place to give birth to the baby antelope.
The young male antelope also will leave the group and gather with other young or adult male antelopes until eventually form a new mixed group.
Tibetan Antelopes
Due to the temperature is always below zero degree centigrade, the Tibetan antelopes have a layer of think fine hair to keep them warm. They are also being hunted by some poachers for their fur which lead the sharp decline of the numbers of the Tibetan antelopes.
Now they are first class protected animal in China. The government set up Qiangtang, Keke Xili and Sanjiangyuan as nature preserves to protect the endangered species. The Tibetan antelopes mainly distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Region (Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang), also rarely be seen in Ladakh region in India.
At the end of April, the male and female antelopes began to divide into different groups, and the young male antelopes less than 1 year old would also be separated from their mothers.
Tibetan Plateau
Female Tibetan antelopes have to go all the way to Keke Xili to give birth to their offspring. They could find water and grass easier there, also less enemies. Abundant food and relatively safe environment are beneficial to the production and growth of Tibetan antelopes. It is said that the water there in the lake contains some special substances, which are beneficial to the survival of the Tibetan antelope mother and child.
After the female antelopes bring the babies to take the same route back, that’s the completion of one migrate process. This migrate will facilitate the exchange of genes and increase the genetic diversity of species, thus contributing to the continuation of the Tibetan antelope population.
Keke Xili
The Tibetan antelopes forage in the morning and evening. They are cautious and timid, often hidden in a rock hole, or digging a small pit in a relatively flat place, conceal the whole body, showing only the head. This could help them to block the wind and sand, at the same time could keep alert.
Tibetan antelopes are good at running, their running speed could be maximum 80 kilometers per hour. But when the wolf suddenly approaching, the Tibetan antelope groups often do not run away, they gather together instead, lower their heads, take the long horns as a weapon against the wolves.
They usually can be seen in winter or early spring because it is cold during that time period and less food can be found, they need to spend more time to get enough food. But in summer and autumn, they have sufficient food even around, so they could rest in the daytime only show up in the morning and nightfall.
