Evaluation the possibility of ex situ conservation of plateau antelopes according to food content with stable isotope C and N analysis

Tibetan antelopes, Pantholops hodgsoni, are endemic to the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of western China. Because of human activities and illegal hunting, the population has decreased sharply in recent years. So the population conservation and enlargement becomes a puzzle to the scientists and government. There are some individuals in several zoos in high altitude area, however, ex situ conservation has never been carried out on a large scale. There are two questions that should be popularized before ex situ conservation is performed. Whether the food content in ex situ area similar to native area or not is the preliminary one, and the other is that whether Tibetan antelope can coexist with other ungulates distributed in ex situ or not. The aim of this study was to identify the food habit of Tibetan antelope in native (Kekexili area, KA) and ex situ (Tiebujia area, TA) areas and the food competition between Tibetan antelope and ungulates in KA and TA. The data indicate that fecal samples provide the most convenient and uninjurious sources to predict the food habit of Tibetan antelope. C3 plants, such as Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Compositae, Leguminosae and Cruciferae, were selected by antelopes both in KA and TA tested with stable isotope analysis method. Tibetan antelopes have high competition with ungulates distributed in KA but low competition with ungulates living in TA. Our results provide a tempting foreground for chiru’s ex situ conservation integrated protecting strategies into the development of appropriate grazing, especially in brittle ecosystem.