Beggar'S-Buttons vs Chiru

Arctium lappa compared with Pantholops hodgsonii

Key Differences

  • Beggar'S-Buttons is Least Concern while Chiru is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Beggar'S-Buttons Chiru
Kingdom Plantae (พืช) Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants) Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class Magnoliopsida (พืชใบเลี้ยงคู่) Mammalia (สัตว์เลี้ยงลูกด้วยน้ำนม)
Order Asterales (อันดับทานตะวัน) Artiodactyla (อันดับสัตว์กีบคู่)
Family Asteraceae (Daisy Family) Bovidae (Bovids)
Genus Arctium Pantholops
Species Arctium lappa Pantholops hodgsonii

Conservation Status

Beggar'S-Buttons

LC — Least Concern

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Beggar'S-Buttons Chiru
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Beggar'S-Buttons

Habitat

Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Algeria), Asia (North Korea, Taiwan), Europe (11 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Brazil).

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Beggar'S-Buttons

The Beggar'S-Buttons (Arctium lappa) is a species in the genus Arctium. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

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.

Nature FYI Family

Explore more of the natural world across our sister sites.

Part of the Nature FYI family — FYIPedia