Qinling National Treasure – The ‘Six Unlike’ Tibetan Antelope (Six-Like Animal)
In China's western Tibetan Plateau and Qinling Mountains, there is an animal that looks 'six unlike' – the Tibetan antelope. Tibetan antelope’s hair is shimmering with gold, and its appearance is peculiar, combining the characteristics of brown bears, hyenas, argali, cattle, goats, and horses. Tibetan antelope is ranked as one of China’s four national treasures, along with giant pandas, and is recognized as the world’s rarest animal. It is listed as a national level protected animal in China.
The Tibetan antelope is not a cow, but a super-large wild sheep, classified close to cold-region antelopes. It measures 2.1 meters long and weighs about 300 kilograms, with the heaviest reaching 1000 kilograms. Because of its small head and short tail, its cry is like that of a sheep, but its temperament is savage like a cow, hence its name, 'Tibetan antelope'. In addition, it has a pair of horns like those of a cow, which are twisted, hence it is also called 'twisted horn antelope'.
The Tibetan antelope has a massive body, with a peculiar appearance, with its back ridge rising up like a brown bear, its face like a camel, its tail like a goat, its two horns like a horse, and its two hind legs like a hyena, and its four limbs like a cow, so it is called 'six unlike' and 'like a cow and like a sheep and like a horse'.
The Tibetan antelope is a typical high-altitude species, often residing in high-altitude cliff areas above 2500 meters, and is good at climbing. It hides during the day in bushes to rest, and comes out in the morning and evening to forage. It goes up and down between cliffs, as if on flat ground. The villagers living under the Qinling Mountains have never seen it once.
The Tibetan antelope has a large and bulky body, relying on its strong physique and strength to drive away competing crowned deer, musk deer, and other hoofed animals. It can jump over branches that are 2.4 meters high, easily bending or breaking tree trunks with a diameter of 12.7 centimeters. In the Qinling Mountains, the Tibetan antelope has almost no natural enemies.
The Tibetan antelope is very friendly and gregarious, but during the mating season, in order to compete for mates, male Tibetan antelopes that fail to win the right to mate often leave the herd and become solitary antelopes. It is said that ‘solitary antelopes’ sometimes mix into cattle herds to eat together, and even mate with female cattle. Solitary antelopes after leaving the herd have a very bad temper and are very aggressive.
Data shows that from 1999 to 2008, there were more than 100 incidents of Tibetan antelopes injuring people in the Qinling Mountains. Experts suggest that when encountering Tibetan antelopes, you should not run around, you can immediately climb to a higher place, or lie down on the ground, and the Tibetan antelope will not harm you.
The Tibetan antelope, together with giant pandas, golden monkeys, and red cranes, is called one of China’s four national treasures. However, because the Tibetan antelope is full of treasures, with a docile and regular temperament, it is easy for humans to hunt it. Nowadays, with the reduction of habitats and the deterioration of the ecological environment, the number of Tibetan antelopes is becoming less and less, with only a few thousand remaining in China, and is listed as an international endangered wild animal species directory.
