Chang Tang Chiru Trek
Four mountaineers in the high steppes of northern Tibet and northeastern China have located the key calving ground of the chiru, a rare Tibetan antelope. Poachers have decimated the chiru populations to supply the black market trade in shahtoosh, which is among the world's most expensive wools and is 25 percent finer then cashmere. The mountain mission may help restore the species. 'This was the last major missing piece in the natural history of these animals,' said Rick Ridgeway, 53, a climber from Ojai, California, and the leader of the quest, sponsored by the National Geographic Society Expeditions Council.
