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By Pan Zheng |
November 27, 2012, Tuesday
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WILDLIFE experts speculate that mysterious mass deaths of endangered takin, a muskox-like animal in Sichuan, may be the result of overpopulation, and culling through hunting might be considered. Pan Zheng reports.
In the vast wild mountains of northern Sichuan Province, there's another national treasure of China's wildlife, besides the giant panda. It is the takin, something like a cross among muskox, goat and antelope, with shaggy golden hair.
The takin, also compared to cows and sheep, is huge and sturdy, with a bulging, moose-like nose.
Males can weigh as much as 350 kilograms. They are on the international list of endangered species, as well as China's.
The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is native to the eastern Himalayas and is sometimes called the cattle chamois or gnu goat. It's the national animal of Bhutan.
In China, takin are considered "first-class" protected, meaning they are most endangered and in need of the highest level of protection.
They are concentrated in Guangyuan City area in the north of the province, bordering Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
A recently reported and mysterious case of unexplained takin deaths in the forests of Qingchuan County has biologists and conservationists scratching their heads.
From last winter to this spring, rangers discovered what they described as a "huge number" of dead animals in the Tangjia River National Natural Preserve, which has a very large and growing population, around 1,400 today.
The cause of death was not immediately known and has not yet been determined.
Hunters were ruled out because takins are valuable for their meat, hide and hair, and horns and would have been removed and sold.
To get to the bottom of this, biologists will launch a study of 15 adult takins in the wild where they will be tracked and monitored.
"Carcasses of adults and calves were lying on mountains and in meadows, one after another," says Shen Limin, vice director of the preserve's management department. Shen says careful investigation of the scene did not yield any obvious cause. He says the staff were overwhelmed with grief.
After several years of conservation and strict patrolling, the Tangjia River Preserve is now one of the biggest takin habitats in China.
In 2004, a census showed the population was around 1,200. Today the population is estimated to be around 1,400 and increasing.
Professor Song Yanling from the Animal Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science investigated the population and environment, but did not reach a clear conclusion on the cause of death.
Speculation 1: Illegal hunting?
Hunting was the first idea, since the meat alone can sell for around 5,000 yuan (US$800), a huge sum in the poor area. One local estimated that a 200 kg takin could earn a hunger around 10,000 yuan for meat, hide and horns.
But the government has cracked down on illegal hunting and it has been greatly reduced.
Shen discounts hunters. "In early years, villagers like to hunt to make a living, but now with the nature preserve, villagers' income is increasing and so is their understanding about the need to protect the environment. Now many of them have become conservationists," he says.
He says he worried a little about rich hunters with high-tech equipment who hunt for sport, not money.
The takin's natural enemies are wolves and bears, but their numbers are small in the Tangjia River area.
Speculation 2: Food shortage?
"Not likely," says Shen.
The Tangjia River Preserve is rich in vegetation in all seasons and takin are very adaptable. In winter, they go down from the mountains to lower valleys looking for food. When it warms up, they return to highland meadows. So, food isn't a problem and the population increase indicates they're not hungry.
Speculation 3: Overpopulation?
Shen is now considering that conservation efforts were so successful that they lead to overpopulation in an area and the takin naturally died out.
"Animals cannot reproduce without limitation. When a species develops to a certain scale, they will experience self-adjustment, just like family planning," Shen says.
He says the average population density in the preserve in 1987 was 1.1 to 1.3 per square kilometer; in recent years, the number has increased to 2 to 2.4. Is that density the maximum? Shen wonders. Reproduction and finding mates become issues when populations get too large.
"We don't know yet. If our research shows the density has reached an unsustainable peak, we will take some adjustment measures, even including hunting," Shen says.
Proper population control is also part of protection, and hunting is one of those ways, Shen says. If research shows the takin population growth has reached a crisis point, the preserve will consider opening areas for strictly controlled hunting after getting expert review and government approval, he says.
Shen says several years ago, neighboring Qinghai Province permitted hunting of two "second-class" protected species, the bharal or Himalayan blue sheep and the goa or Tibetan gazelle. Numbers of hunters and numbers of prey were strictly controlled, he says.
In the vast wild mountains of northern Sichuan Province, there's another national treasure of China's wildlife, besides the giant panda. It is the takin, something like a cross among muskox, goat and antelope, with shaggy golden hair.
The takin, also compared to cows and sheep, is huge and sturdy, with a bulging, moose-like nose.
Males can weigh as much as 350 kilograms. They are on the international list of endangered species, as well as China's.
The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is native to the eastern Himalayas and is sometimes called the cattle chamois or gnu goat. It's the national animal of Bhutan.
In China, takin are considered "first-class" protected, meaning they are most endangered and in need of the highest level of protection.
They are concentrated in Guangyuan City area in the north of the province, bordering Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
A recently reported and mysterious case of unexplained takin deaths in the forests of Qingchuan County has biologists and conservationists scratching their heads.
From last winter to this spring, rangers discovered what they described as a "huge number" of dead animals in the Tangjia River National Natural Preserve, which has a very large and growing population, around 1,400 today.
The cause of death was not immediately known and has not yet been determined.
Hunters were ruled out because takins are valuable for their meat, hide and hair, and horns and would have been removed and sold.
To get to the bottom of this, biologists will launch a study of 15 adult takins in the wild where they will be tracked and monitored.
"Carcasses of adults and calves were lying on mountains and in meadows, one after another," says Shen Limin, vice director of the preserve's management department. Shen says careful investigation of the scene did not yield any obvious cause. He says the staff were overwhelmed with grief.
After several years of conservation and strict patrolling, the Tangjia River Preserve is now one of the biggest takin habitats in China.
In 2004, a census showed the population was around 1,200. Today the population is estimated to be around 1,400 and increasing.
Professor Song Yanling from the Animal Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science investigated the population and environment, but did not reach a clear conclusion on the cause of death.
Speculation 1: Illegal hunting?
Hunting was the first idea, since the meat alone can sell for around 5,000 yuan (US$800), a huge sum in the poor area. One local estimated that a 200 kg takin could earn a hunger around 10,000 yuan for meat, hide and horns.
But the government has cracked down on illegal hunting and it has been greatly reduced.
Shen discounts hunters. "In early years, villagers like to hunt to make a living, but now with the nature preserve, villagers' income is increasing and so is their understanding about the need to protect the environment. Now many of them have become conservationists," he says.
He says he worried a little about rich hunters with high-tech equipment who hunt for sport, not money.
The takin's natural enemies are wolves and bears, but their numbers are small in the Tangjia River area.
Speculation 2: Food shortage?
"Not likely," says Shen.
The Tangjia River Preserve is rich in vegetation in all seasons and takin are very adaptable. In winter, they go down from the mountains to lower valleys looking for food. When it warms up, they return to highland meadows. So, food isn't a problem and the population increase indicates they're not hungry.
Speculation 3: Overpopulation?
Shen is now considering that conservation efforts were so successful that they lead to overpopulation in an area and the takin naturally died out.
"Animals cannot reproduce without limitation. When a species develops to a certain scale, they will experience self-adjustment, just like family planning," Shen says.
He says the average population density in the preserve in 1987 was 1.1 to 1.3 per square kilometer; in recent years, the number has increased to 2 to 2.4. Is that density the maximum? Shen wonders. Reproduction and finding mates become issues when populations get too large.
"We don't know yet. If our research shows the density has reached an unsustainable peak, we will take some adjustment measures, even including hunting," Shen says.
Proper population control is also part of protection, and hunting is one of those ways, Shen says. If research shows the takin population growth has reached a crisis point, the preserve will consider opening areas for strictly controlled hunting after getting expert review and government approval, he says.
Shen says several years ago, neighboring Qinghai Province permitted hunting of two "second-class" protected species, the bharal or Himalayan blue sheep and the goa or Tibetan gazelle. Numbers of hunters and numbers of prey were strictly controlled, he says.
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