Shahtooshes are $3,000 shawls made from the wool of endangered Tibetan antelopes.

Although the lifespan of Tibetan antelopes is not known with certainty, since so few have been kept in captivity, it is probably around 10 years.

They may also scavenge on the carcasses of Tibetan antelopes, musk deer, blue sheep and livestock.

Hu was subsequently involved in efforts to protect the Tibetan Antelope that were being slaughtered for their fur.

He discovered a new species of antelope which was named after him, the Tibetan Antelope Pantholops hodgsonii.

It is important as one of the few places in India with a migratory population of the Chiru or Tibetan Antelope.

The Tibetan Antelope, (Ladakhi: tsos, Indian English chiru) is also endangered.

Tibetan Antelope or Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)

The fur of Tibetan antelopes is distinctive, and consists of long guard hairs and a silky undercoat of shorter fibres.

WWF:Wildlife Trade - Tibetan Antelope (Chiru)

The saigas and Tibetan antelopes are related to true antelopes (Antilopinae) and goats (Caprinae), but often placed in their own subfamily, Saiginae.

"We proposed detailed measures on protecting migrating Tibetan antelopes in the morning, and to our surprise we got the government's answer back that very afternoon, less than three hours, later," Mr. Yang said.

Subtitles at the end of the movie states that Ga, stunned by the atrocities, writes a stunning report in Beijing which alerted the government of the problems in Kekexili and banned the poaching of Tibetan antelopes.

However, over-hunting and a decrease in food supplies has led to a large decrease in the population of the Tibetan Antelope, Argali, Kiangs, Musk deer, and Snow leopards in these regions, reducing them to the status of endangered species.

Dr. Schaller has recently returned from the Qian Tang region of China, where he was instrumental in planning what is believed to be the world's largest wildlife reserve, providing a haven for wild yaks, lyre-horned Tibetan antelopes, gazelles, blue sheep and snow leopards.

The endangered Tibetan Antelope, commonly known as chiru, or Ladakhi tsos, has traditionally been hunted for its wool (shahtoosh) which is a natural fiber of the finest quality and thus valued for its light weight and warmth and as a status symbol.

It is the Qian Tang region of northwest Tibet, a vast, bleak territory of sparsely grassed plains broken by hills, valleys, lakes and snowy peaks, populated by wild yaks and asses, lyre-horned Tibetan antelopes, gazelles, blue sheep and, in the higher elevations, snow leopards.

In order to re-enact the shooting death of a Tibetan Antelope, the filmmakers acquired a Mongolian Gazelle (a second-class protected species under Chinese law) from a nearby reserve, affixed Tibetan antelope antlers to it, and then shot the animal to death on-screen while two cameras rolled.

ARKive - images and movies of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii)

Tibetan Antelope or Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)