Chiru vs gray wolf

Pantholops hodgsonii compared with Canis lupus

Key Differences

• Chiru is Near Threatened while gray wolf is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chiru	gray wolf
Kingdom same	Animalia (동물)	Animalia (동물)
Phylum same	Chordata (척삭동물)	Chordata (척삭동물)
Class same	Mammalia (포유류)	Mammalia (포유류)
Order	Artiodactyla (소목)	Carnivora (식육목)
Family	Bovidae (Bovids)	Canidae (Dogs & Wolves)
Genus	Pantholops	Canis (Dogs & Wolves)
Species	Pantholops hodgsonii	Canis lupus

Evolutionary Relationship

Chiru and gray wolf share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (포유류)

Conservation Status

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

gray wolf

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~300.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chiru	gray wolf
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	13 years
Average Length	—	1.6 m
Average Weight	—	45.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

gray wolf

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (Japan), Europe (5 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Vanuatu), and South America (5 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

gray wolf

가장 넓은 분포 범위를 가진 야생 갯과 동물인 회색늑대는 북아메리카에서 유라시아에 걸쳐 툰드라, 숲, 초원 등 다양한 서식지에 분포합니다. 우세한 번식 쌍이 이끄는 가족 단위 무리를 이루어 생활하는 고도로 사회적인 동물입니다. 최상위 포식자로서 먹이 개체군을 조절하고 생태계 구조를 근본적으로 형성하는데, 옐로스톤에서의 재도입 사례가 이를 잘 보여줍니다. 한때 심각하게 박해받았으나 많은 지역에서 개체군이 회복 중입니다.