Photo of the Day 358

Chiru Expedition, Chang Tang, Tibet, 2002

Photograph by Galen Rowell

An expedition member hauls a custom-built ricksha laden with supplies across the desolate Chang Tang alpine steppe in northern Tibet. A group of elite mountaineers put together the expedition to witness births at the remote calving grounds of the elusive chiru, or Tibetan antelope.

The expeditioners chose to use lightweight rickshas instead of four-wheel-drive vehicles, which would get stuck in the mud and spook the chiru with engine noise.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Walking the Chang Tang," April 2003, National Geographic magazine)