Tibetan Gazelle (Procapra picticaudata) lives in alpine meadows across Tibetan Plateau. It feeds on grasses and shrubs. Its conservation status is Near Threatened.
Fascinating facts about the Tibetan Gazelle
- Standing only 54 to 65 cm at the shoulder and measuring 91 to 105 cm in body length, the goa weighs a mere 13 to 16 kg, about the mass of a large backpack. Males grow slender, ridged horns that reach 26 to 32 cm, while females are horn-less. Their tiny frame and long legs let them sprint across the plateau, a vital escape from Himalayan wolves and snow leopards.
- Unlike many antelopes that form massive herds, goas usually travel in family groups of no more than 10 individuals, and sometimes are solitary. Population density can range from 2.8 animals per square kilometre in good habitat to under 0.1 in harsher spots.
- Females graze high in summer, then descend in September to join the December rut, where solitary males scent-mark and wrestle with their horns. After a six-month gestation, a single kid is born in July or August and stays hidden with its mother for the first two weeks before rejoining the herd.
- In Ladakh, fewer than 100 goas survive at 4,750-5,050 m, confined to a few valleys, while nearby herders now graze 3,000-4,000 goats and sheep across seven to eight flocks, stripping vegetation. Road building began in May 2025 and by July 2025 12 km of a new highway cut through the same high-altitude pastures. The combined pressure of livestock, habitat fragmentation, and tiny, isolated populations threatens the gazelle's genetic health and could push it toward local extinction.
- The goa lives between 3,000 and 5,750 m on the Tibetan Plateau, favoring alpine meadows and high-elevation steppe. the gazelle's thick winter guard hairs keep it warm.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeTibetan Plateau
HabitatAlpine meadows
DietGrasses and shrubs
About the Tibetan Gazelle
Across the windswept steppes of the Tibetan Plateau, the Tibetan gazelle, with its tawny coat and delicate features, moves with a gentle elegance, its large eyes ever-vigilant for the predators that roam this unforgiving landscape. As it glides effortlessly, its slender legs devouring the distance, the gazelle embodies the very essence of adaptation, its remarkable hardiness allowing it to thrive in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. With each step, it weaves a subtle path through the sparse vegetation, a testament to the enduring spirit of a creature that has called this harsh yet beautiful world home for millennia.
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