Wildlifeof Nepal
Tibetan Gazelle
Wild Cattle & Serow
Photo: Ashwin Viswanathan · CC-BY
Procapra picticaudata
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly forbs and legumes, with some grasses and sedges
Habitat
Tibetan Plateau, 3,000–5,750m
Range
Tibetan Plateau
Size
54–65cm at the shoulder; head and body 91–105cm; male horns 26–32cm
Weight
13–16kg
The goa, or Tibetan gazelle, is grayish brown over most of the body, with a greyer summer coat and a thicker winter one. It has a short, black-tipped tail set in the middle of heart-shaped white rump patches. It stands 54 to 65cm at the shoulder and weighs 13 to 16kg. Males carry long, tapering, ridged horns of 26 to 32cm (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is native to the Tibetan Plateau, widespread at 3,000 to 5,750m, and the sources opened here do not describe it in Nepal, where it would be at the very edge of its range. Goas form small family groups of no more than about ten, and many live alone. They feed mainly on forbs and legumes. Females come down from high pastures around September, ahead of mating in December. Nationally Critically Endangered (Nepal National Red List 2011).
Quick answers
- What does the Tibetan Gazelle eat?
- Mainly forbs and legumes, with some grasses and sedges
- What habitat does the Tibetan Gazelle live in?
- Tibetan Plateau, 3,000–5,750m
- Where is the Tibetan Gazelle found?
- Tibetan Plateau
- How big is the Tibetan Gazelle?
- 54–65cm at the shoulder; head and body 91–105cm; male horns 26–32cm
- How much does the Tibetan Gazelle weigh?
- 13–16kg