Changthangi

The Changthangi or Changpa is a breed of cashmere goat native to the high plateaus of Ladakh in northern India.

The intense cold of the region causes the goats to grow a thick undercoat, which is harvested to produce the fine pashmina grade of cashmere.

The Changthangi goats have revitalised the poor economy of Changthang, Ladakh where the wool production generates more than $8 million a year.

[8]: 83 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, 25 km east of Srinagar, on 15 March 2012.

The Changthangi is a small goat, standing about 50 cm at the withers, and weighing on average approximately 20 kg.

Changpa nomad with a kid
Herd in Ladakh