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| Changthangi goats: The pride of cold arid Ladakh | | | Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. D. Namgayal | 6/28/2019 11:22:39 PM |
| The Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir widely renowned for its remote sky touching mountains, beauty and culture falls in the cold arid zone. Also known as the land of high passes, it extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. The region is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and its culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet. Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti regions to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. Leh is the largest town in Ladakh followed by Kargil.
The region is rich in floral and faunal diversity. A huge variety of flora and fauna including some endangered species of animals are found in this region. Due to the high altitude of the region and rugged nature of its terrain, the growing season is also confined to five to six months in the year. About 1,100 medicinal plants were also spotted here. Among the fauna found in the region, one can easily spot a number of animals roaming freely in their natural habitat. Yaks, ibex, Tibetan Hare, Blue sheep, wild ass, Bharal, Marmot, the Chiru also called the Tibetan antelope and the Snow Leopard etc. are part of ecosystem of Ladakh. Besides this nearly 310 species of avifauna that include Golden Eagle, Lamagier, Wall creeper, Rock Bunting, Black necked crane, Himalayan Snowcock make Ladakh a must visit destination to marvel at superb avifauna.
The present article entitled 'Changthang goats: the pride of cold arid zone' depicts the story of the world famous Changthang goats. The 'Changthangi goat' is a beautiful animal found in the cold, arid region surrounding Ladakh in Kashmir, India. It is also known as Pashmina goat or Changra goat. It also inhabits the plateaus in Tibet, Nepal and parts of Burma. The breed is raised mainly for its ultra-fine cashmere wool production. This cashmere wool is known as Pashmina once woven. The breed was also reared for meat production in the past. Changthangi goat is a cashmere goat, and this type of goat grows a thick, warm undercoat which is the source or Kashmir Pashmina wool. And the Kashmir Pashmina wool is considered as the world's finest cashmere, measuring between 12-15 microns in fiber thickness. This wool is used for the Kashmir's famous Pashmina Shawls. Shawls made from Pashmina wool are exported worldwide at a very high price and considered as the finest of its kind. These goats are generally domesticated and are reared by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang region of greater Ladakh. This region is one of the highest plateaus in the world. The number of Changthangi goat breed in India is 196219 which are found mainly in Jammu & Kashmir with a few numbers in Punjab and Uttrakhand according to the 19th Livestock Census (2012. The Changpa communities are a sub-sect of the larger Buddhist Drokpa community in northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Changthangi goat is a medium sized very beautiful domestic goat breed. These are raised for cashmere production, but are also very good as a meat goat breed. They are most often white in color but also seen in black, gray or brown. Both bucks and does have large twisted horns. The average body weight of a Changthangi buck is about 31 kg and the does on average weight about 26kg. Changthangi goats are very active, hardy and strong animal. They are mainly raised in free range grazing system throughout the year. They are very cold hardy animal and can survive on only grass in Ladakh, where temperatures plunge to as low as minus 20 °C. The Changthangi does are not highly prolific and they give birth of kids only once a year producing only a single kid per kidding. Mature does yield 200 to 300 ml of milk a day once the kids are weaned. About 15 to 20% of the goat population is culled every year and sold to butchers for meat. Their cashmere wool is harvested once a year, usually in June or July. Their hair is harvested either by combing or by shearing. Pashmina production varies depending on the size of the goats, ranges from 70 to 500 grams per goat.
The Changthang goats survive on grass in Ladakh, where temperature plunges to as low as ?20 °C (?4.00 °F). These goats providing the wool for Kashmir's famous Pashmina shawls have revitalized the poor economy of Ladakh region. It is also here pertinent to mention that Noori, the world's first cloned Pashmina goat, was cloned at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST) in Shuhama on March 15, 2012.
The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources has put the Changthangi goat breed on the 'endangered species list'. So there is a urgent need to enhance the productivity of its genetic resources by developing germplasm centres for this goat breed. It is also necessary to validate and implement breeding, feeding health control and product processing technologies for improving the health of Changthang goats. An All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on improvement of Changthangi goats operational at High Mountain Arid Agriculture Research Institute (HMAARI), Leh under the aegis of SKUAST-Kashmir. This AICRP is also contributing towards the improvement of Changthangi goats. |
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