Central African Red Colobus vs Chiru

Piliocolobus foai compared with Pantholops hodgsonii

Key Differences

• Central African Red Colobus is Endangered while Chiru is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Central African Red Colobus	Chiru
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Primates (Primates)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Cercopithecidae (Old World Monkeys)	Bovidae (Bovids)
Genus	Piliocolobus	Pantholops
Species	Piliocolobus foai	Pantholops hodgsonii

Evolutionary Relationship

Central African Red Colobus and Chiru share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Central African Red Colobus

EN — Endangered

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Central African Red Colobus	Chiru
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Central African Red Colobus

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Central African Red Colobus

The Central African Red Colobus (Piliocolobus foai) is a species in the genus Piliocolobus. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Chiru

The Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the Tibetan Antelope, is a bovid endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent high-altitude grasslands of China, with small populations in India. Males bear long, slender, nearly vertical horns that can exceed 70 centimetres in length, while females are hornless. The species is highly adapted to life at elevations of 3,700–5,500 metres, possessing a dense, fine underfur known as shahtoosh — one of the finest animal fibres in the world — which provided insulation against extreme cold but also made chiru a prime target for illegal poaching. Massive hunting pressure during the late twentieth century for shahtoosh shawl production devastated populations, which fell to as few as 75,000 individuals. Following intensified conservation efforts, trade bans, and anti-poaching patrols in China, numbers have partially recovered, though the species remains Near Threatened. Chiru are highly migratory; females undertake remarkable annual migrations of up to 300 kilometres to reach calving grounds in the Chang Tang plateau. Males typically remain at lower elevations year-round. They graze on grasses, sedges, and forbs, and face ongoing threats from climate change affecting high-altitude pasture productivity and from infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors.