The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with its super high altitude, is known as the roof of the world. There are high snow-capped mountains, deep permafrost, thin air, sparse vegetation, and extremely harsh living conditions. However, there are many precious and rare animals there. For example, snow leopards, wild yaks, Tibetan wild donkeys, Tibetan brown bears and so on.
Only tibetan antelopes meet the conditions of "eight years of life", "80 kilometers per hour" and "800 kilometers per year".
But why is the Tibetan antelope like this?
★ Tibetan Antelope Archives
Baidu Encyclopedia Introduction: Tibetan antelope, scientific name Tibetan antelope, is a mammal, even-hoofed order, bovine.
Even hooves are easy to understand, that is, the hooves of Tibetan antelopes are divided into two lobes. However, it is obviously a sheep, but it is said to belong to the "bovine family", which is not easy to understand.
Originally, there were three types of "bovine family" in zoology, the first of which was the cattle family of the "cow subfamily", collectively known as cattle. Second, the sheep family of the "sheep subfamily", collectively known as sheep (whether goats or sheep). Third, a class that is neither cattle nor sheep, is collectively referred to as "antelope". Therefore, the scientific name of the Tibetan antelope is Tibetan antelope.
The Tibetan antelope is 120–140 cm long and shoulders 65–70 cm high. Male antelopes have straight, slender horns, about 55–62 cm long. The female gazelle is slightly smaller. The tibetan antelope has thick back hair. The upperparts are pale brown and white under the neck, thorax, abdomen, and medial limbs. From a distance, the Tibetan antelope and the color of the Gobi grassy beach in the northwest desert are integrated. It turned out that God had deliberately done it.
Tibetan antelope inhabits alpine grasslands, meadows and alpine deserts at altitudes of 3700-5500 meters, mainly in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region (Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang) centered on the Changtang In China. It seems that it is reasonable to call it a Tibetan antelope.
Tibetan antelope forages in the morning and evening and is good at running. It can form a large group of tens of thousands of animals. Females migrate north along a fixed route in the summer.
★ The Tibetan antelope has a lifespan of 8 years
Regardless of whether it is a human or a beast, it has its own lifespan. For example, the average life expectancy of mainland residents has increased from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 years in 2021 (Statistical Communiqué on the Development of Mainland Health and Health Undertakings in 2021).
The lifespan of the Tibetan antelope is not long, generally 8 years. This is the lifespan of the Tibetan antelope in a safe environment. If you encounter disease and wolf-leopard hunting, the length of life is difficult to calculate.
For example, the Tibetan antelope was eaten by vultures, golden eagles, wolves, etc. just after birth; For example, the Tibetan antelope dies within one year of migration for various reasons; For example, tibetan antelope died between the ages of two and eight, for various reasons, and does not count. The 8 years of this article refer to the age at which Tibetan antelopes naturally die of old age.
★ How do Tibetan antelopes achieve a speed of 80 kilometers per hour on the cold and oxygen-deficient Tibetan Plateau
People who have been to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have experienced that the higher the altitude, the more difficult it is to breathe, and then headaches, chest tightness, fatigue, and even better to live than to die.
Because the partial pressure of oxygen on the Tibetan Plateau is twice as low as at sea level. For humans, this is called altitude sickness, which is actually a lack of oxygen. Severe lack of oxygen, life will die!
The human experience of hypoxia begins at an altitude of 2500 meters and reaches an altitude of 3000 meters. The higher the altitude, the lower the oxygen content in the air. In mammals, the more severe the hypoxia reaction.
Once mammals lack oxygen, life is constrained. However, the Tibetan antelope inhabits the plateau desert meadows, plateau grasslands and other environments at an altitude of 3250-5500 meters, and has the ability to adapt to hypoxia. But being able to run at a high speed of 80 kilometers per hour at high altitudes is incredible.
With such strenuous exercise, the hemoglobin in any mammal requires a large supply of oxygen. Isn't the Tibetan antelope short of oxygen?
The hemoglobin of Tibetan antelope has a higher oxygen affinity than that of other bovine hemoglobin; This explains how Tibetan antelopes can maintain a running speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour at distances of more than 100 kilometers, and the oxygen partial pressure at their altitude is about half of the oxygen partial pressure at sea level in "Mysterious Earth".
There are also data that explain: the Tibetan antelope has a wide nasal cavity, and each nostril has an air bag that can absorb more oxygen during the strenuous movement of the Tibetan antelope. It seems that the nostrils airbags are the secret weapon of the Tibetan antelope!
Ge Rili, vice president of Qinghai University, said that after a lot of work, researchers have discovered that Tibetan antelopes have the following secrets:
First, the reason why the Tibetan antelope can run at high altitudes is that it hides 4 "jet" air bags on its body - there are two air bags hidden under the skin on both sides of the precursor, and there are two larger air bags on both sides of the hip.
When the Tibetan antelope runs, the 4 air sacs will spew out a large amount of gas to push the body forward. It's a bit like a jet.
You see the Tibetan antelope is powerful, right? He is born with a jet device on his body, and I am afraid that he is the only monster in the world!
Second: the lungs of tibetan antelopes are significantly larger than those of other plateau animals, in addition to large lung capacity and gene richness, Tibetan antelopes have the functions of anti-hypoxia and high cold tolerance.
★ Tibetan antelopes migrate more than 800 kilometers a year
Through Animal World, we are familiar with the grand and spectacular scene of the Great Migration of Million Wildebeests in the African savannah every October. As everyone knows, on China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, there are also scenes of the great migration of tens of thousands of Tibetan antelopes every year.
The Great Wildebeest Migration is a migration activity of herbivores dominated by wildebeest in the steppe of East Africa. Every year from July to September, millions of herbivores migrate from tanzania's Serengeti grasslands to Kenya's Masai Mara steppes in search of water and grass, with wildebeest being the main force.
The Tibetan antelope migration is also one of the world's most powerful ungulate migrations. However, the migration of Tibetan antelope is mainly based on ewes.
After mating from November to December each year, the female antelope begins to travel to cocoa Xili Zhuonai Lake, Sun Lake and other real estates in May of the following year, and after the birth of the litters in July and August, they return to their original habitat to join the male sheep. Once a year, not only 800 kilometers!
★ Why is the Tibetan antelope a female migrator?
Migration, must be cyclical, and it is to go back and forth between two points, and the regular large-scale movement of this animal is called migration.
The investigation found that the estrus period of tibetan antelope is from November to December. At this time, the ram is so passionate that it fights for the right to mate with the ewe, so that its face turns black with excitement.
At this time, the steppe will often hear the rams banging for mating rights. The winner is king, with the ewe; The loser fled and went to take the king.
Male antelope winners can have mating rights to more than a dozen ewes. At this time, the male antelope is inseparable from the female antelope, and every day it is generous and attentive to the female antelope. After mating is complete, the male antelope must guard the female antelope for a period of time to prevent other male antelope from harassing.
The gestation period of the female antelope is 6-7 months, one litter per litter. Starting in April of the following year, the male antelope love gradually became cold, the black face faded, began to be a negative heart, gradually away from the ewe, and went to gather with the ram, eating, drinking and having fun.
The female antelope had no choice but to admit their fate, swallowing bitter water into their stomachs one by one, and went to gather with the female antelope alone and lonely, preparing for the great migration of children.
Female antelopes are born with quirks - from the first pregnancy at the age of 2-3, they have to migrate every year to give birth to litters in the area of Lake Coco Xilizhuo and Sun Lake, hundreds of kilometers away. Therefore, the great migration of Tibetan antelope is mainly based on female antelope, migrating for littering.
I would like to ask the mother Tibetan antelope: When giving birth to a child, why do you have to travel thousands of miles to go to the pain of trekking, and go to the big toss without fear of fatigue, illness, death and injury? Does it make sense?
Scientific investigations have proved that there are the following reasons for the migration of Tibetan antelope:
One is called "collective memory." That is to say, the current Tibetan antelope may not know why it migrates, but its mother and grandmother have to leave every year when the time comes, and the time to return. How to go, how to get back? It may not even know, just know to follow. Then it is logical and forms a collective memory.
The second is the "gene theory". Tibetan antelope eliminates the elderly, weak, sick and disabled through long-distance migration, and the surviving winners continue to carry the mission of reproducing and passing on genes.
The second is the "climate theory". The breeding area of Tibetan antelope is low in altitude and has a better climate environment. Like humans, to have children is to find a beautiful and comfortable place.
The third is "food theory". Some people think that the Tibetan antelope
The aquatic plants in the calving area are abundant, which is conducive to the recovery of the mother and the healthy, and the happy growth of the child animals.
The fourth is the "natural enemy theory." In the spawning area of the female Tibetan antelope, there are not many natural enemies. Can have children there carefree.
Dear readers, do you think this Tibetan antelope is strange or not? (About the author: Wang Tianxiang, senior journalist and writer, has published 42 monographs such as novels, written more than 200 TV series, created dozens of special TV films such as history, culture, scenery, and documentary, published hundreds of articles in various newspapers and periodicals, and published more than 1,000 online articles.) ）
(Special note: The picture in this article is selected from the Internet, and if the infringement notice is deleted.) Thank you! ）