The Wildlife Conservation Society is praising a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to list the Tibetan antelope as an endangered species.
The New York-based society said it has conducted a series of expeditions to China's Chang Tang Reserve during the past 20 years to bring attention to the c decline in the number of the animal due to poaching.
The WCS said the antelope's wool, considered the finest in the world, is used for shawls that are sold on the black market for as much as $15,000 each, resulting in tens of thousands of Tibetan antelope being slaughtered.
The U.S. listing of the Tibetan antelope, also known as chiru, under the Endangered Species Act reinforces protection for the animal that's already safeguarded under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. That prohibits the international commercial sale of any parts or products of the species.
The U.S. action, published Thursday in the Federal Register, takes effect April 28.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
Tibetan antelope slowly recovering, WCS says
Returning from a recent 1,000-mile expedition across Tibet's remote Chang Tang region, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologist George Schaller reports that the Tibetan antelope -- once the target of rampant poaching -- may be increasing in numbers due to a combination of better enforcement and a growing conservation ethic in local communities.
iTunes blocked in China; Tibet album suspected
(AP) -- Customers in China of Apple Inc.'s iTunes online music store were unable to download songs this week, and an activist group said Beijing was trying to block access to a new Tibet-themed album.
China drops some Internet curbs ahead of Games
China on Friday rolled back a few high-profile planks of its Internet censorship system in an apparent effort to defuse an embarrassing dispute over media freedom just days ahead of the Olympics.
Chinese earthquake provides lessons for future
The May 12 Sichuan earthquake in China was unexpectedly large. Analysis of the area, however, now shows that topographic characteristics of the highly mountainous area identified the mountain range as active and could have pointed to the earthquake hazard. Topographic analysis can help evaluate other, similar fault areas for seismic risk, according to geologists from Penn State and Arizona State University.
Long Wait Before Next China Quake?
A new analysis of the setting for May's devastating earthquake in China shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity--and that similar events in that area occur, on average, only once every 2,000 to 10,000 years. However, geologists caution that because earthquakes can sometimes occur in clusters, people should still be wary of another possible large-scale earthquake.
Geologists study China earthquake for glimpse into future
The May 12 earthquake that rocked Sichuan Province in China was the first there in recorded history and unexpected in its magnitude. Now a team of geoscientists is looking at the potential for future earthquakes due to earthquake-induced changes in stress.
China quake rare and unexpected, new study says
A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists at MIT shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity, and that similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years, on average.
Fossils found in Tibet revise history of elevation, climate
About 15,000 feet up on Tibet's desolate Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau, an international research team led by Florida State University geologist Yang Wang was surprised to find thick layers of ancient lake sediment filled with plant, fish and animal fossils typical of far lower elevations and warmer, wetter climates.