CHIRU, a graceful Tibetan antelope (Pantholopus hodgsoni), of which the bucks are armed with long, slender and heavily ridged horns of a peculiar type.
Chiru are very wary and difficult to approach ; they are generally found in small parties. They inhabit the desolate plateau of Tibet, at elevations of between 13,00o and i8,000ft., and have a thick coat, formed of close woolly hair of a grey-fawn colour. The most peculiar feature about the chiru is its swollen, puffy nose, probably connected with breathing a rarefied atmosphere. The chiru is allied to the saiga (q.v.).