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Home , Golden takin, Himalayan serow, Japanese serow, Mainland serow, Red serow, Serow

FINAL APPENDIX «On t h e Bu d o r c a s , Ne m o r h a e d u s a n d Ca p r i c o r n i s »

By Paulino Fandos and José Madrazo

Introduction

his Biological Appendix will provide you with biological references to the spe- cies mentioned in this book, though its main aim is to supply the hunting com- munity –particularly those attracted to mountain-dwelling – with infor- Tmation. In this way, it should complement the bibliography that already exists about mountain ungulates, much of which is devoted to and , and do something for the paucity of publications about other such as the Budorcas, Nemorhaedus and Capricornis. These three species –the , Ghoral and – form the least-known group of hunting trophies. Even the most extensive hunting archives that exist –those of the Safari Club International– acknowledge the existence of the Red Ghoral (Nemorhaedus baileyi) and the Chinese Serow (Capricornis sumatrensis milneedwardsi), yet do not register any trophy for either of these animals. This procedural difficulty has led to those previously unlisted trophies pertaining to the subspecies collected on my expedition, and were incorrectly entered in the «Record Book» as the Himalayan Ghoral (Nemorhaedus ) and the (Capricornis sumatrensis thar). These species –albeit very few– had already been recorded. Hence, we are attempting to open a new section to include the wrongly classified subspecies, so that they may be properly understood. There have been relatively few expeditions to collect these animals, and even fewer that have been recorded in writing, which is why an effort is necessary to round out this account of hunting in . When you hear the term, «exotic animals», you hardly ever think of this group of caprines, since there are few specimens, and these are little known and roam faraway places. However, it seems fairly clear that the –that is, the ghorals and – are the most

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primitive species among the rupicaprines and their relatives. A primitive variety 50 percent bigger than the modern ghoral, the cock goral, which was found in various parts of Europe until the beginning of the Pleistocene period, is most probably the ancestor of the different forms of both rupicaprines ( and white goats) and caprines (goats and sheep) that later branched off from each other. However, they are all included in a group of such as the Artiodactyls, a su- perorder that embraces all mammals with limbs whose extremities consist of a pair of toes that rest on the ground and support the . The most important feature of the group as a whole is that, since its members are grass eaters (i.e. phytophages), they gradually lose their canine teeth, including the bottom ones as in the case of the ghoral. Bony structures eventually rise in their places, used for defense and mating battles. Other unusual features are that they chew a cud (with the exception of the ) and are sexually dimorphic, with the males being bigger than the females and having more highly developed defenses.

Superorder of paraxoniay or artiodactyls

Suborder of rumiantia (rumiants): (pilandoks [mouse ], african mouse deer; antilocaprines; bulls, , goats; deer; giraffes, ):

Tragulidae family (Tragulines): Pilandoks [Mouse Deer] and African Mouse Deer. family (Giraffes): Giraffes and Okapis. Cervidae family (Deer). family (Antilocaprines or ). family (Bovids):

Duikers Antelopes Dwarf Antelopes Horse Antelopes Goats

Suborder of tylopods (camelids): ( and llamas): family: Camelids.

Tribe: Lamini (South American Camelids); Genus: . , Llama and . Tribe: Camelini.

Suborder of (swine or suiformes): 4 toes. Suidae family: . Hippopotamide family: Hippopotami. Tayassuidae family: .

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Takins

hile «Takin» is the name used by lay- men and in the captions of paintings Kingdom: Animalia and photos, the generic Latin name, Budorcas, is a compound of the two Phylum: Chordata WGreek words, «bous» (i.e. cow or ox) Class: Mammalia and «dorkas» (i.e. ). The species name, «taxi- Order: Cetartiodactyla color», comes from a compound of the Latin words «taxus» (i.e. yew tree) and «color», in reference to the Suborder: Ruminantia species’ dull yellow color. There are also numerous Family: Bovidae local vernacular names - such as «tunu yea», «niu Subfamily: Joao ling», «bei yang»- that refer to the subject’s re- semblance to the cow and the gazelle, the shape of Tribe: Ovibovini its horns, or even its color. Genus Budorcas The Takins are closely related to the Rupic- aprines (the Chamois, the Goral, the Serow, and the American White ).

1.1. Species The following three species have been identified, though some authors consider them a subspecies of B. taxicolor: • Budorcas taxicolor Hodgson, 1850. Typically found in: the Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh, . • Budorcas tibetanus Lydekker, 1909. Typically found in: Moupin, Szechuan, China. • Budorcas bedfordi Thomas, 1911. Typically found in: Tai-pei Shan, 3,048 m, Southern Shaanxi, China.

1.2. Distribution

Takins can be found only in Asia, and mainly in The People’s Republic of China, where they are nowadays restricted to three zones in the center and west of the country, and to the east in the foothills of the Himalayas, though the exact limits of these areas are not very clear,

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few studies being available. Takins have been reported in , in some of the valleys of Tibet as well as in Southern Lhasa, Burma and Nepal.

All the references in the hunting literature are to China, except for the B. taxicolor B. bedfordi episodes related by Bert Klineburger and Theodore and Kermit Roosevelt. B. tibetana On p. 299 of his book, «International Hunter», Klineburger describes a hunt where a Budorcas tibetanus Lydekker was collected, illustrating his ac- count with photographs. However, the Roosevelts don’t mention looking for the species in Burma, Szechuan and Yunnan, though in the account Map showing Takin distribution: (1) B. t. taxicolor y B. of their three-month trip in «Trailing t. whitei, (2) B. t. tibetana, y (3) B. t. bedfordi the », the only specimens they managed to spot were found in Szechuan.

The habitat of the Gray or Regular Takin extends from Southern Szechuan to the South- eastern part of Gansu Province, while the Golden Takin is found only in the central part of Shaanxi.

1.3. Habitat Takins are mountain animals, with the exception of their seasonal migrations, and are mainly found between 2,950 and 12,140 feet. In winter they stay below the snow line, in the tropical rhododendron and bamboo forests that grow on steep slopes that enjoy heavy rainfall. Though they move slowly, they can climb precipitous mountain sides very effectively as well as jump from rock to rock. Walking, they lower their heads, swinging them from side to side.

1.4. Description Both sexes have dark-colored, crescent-shaped, striated horns with ovoid triangular bases near which there are various irregular-shaped rings.

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The extant species with horns similar to those of the takins are the musk ox, found in mountain habitats, and the African gnu, which roams the savannahs in large herds. In these specimens the horns emerge above the flat part of the skull, near the eye sockets and the frontal bone, first growing horizontally, forward and outwards, and then bending backwards and upwards. This growth pattern is common to all the species and may be due to sexual cycles.

Takins have a characteristic, sunken-chest- ed form, being taller at the withers than at the hips, and having sturdy legs, especially the front ones.

They have a snub muzzle that looks like a Roman nose. The horns, hooves, nostrils and hairless areas are glossy black. The ears are short, narrow and pointed, as is the tail, which is triangular in cross-section and totally hairless.

The eyes, located in the upper part of the head, are more bulging than those of other simi- lar species, thus commanding a wider field of vision. The sublacrimal gland isn’t as well devel- oped as that of the serow. Musk ox, from the author’s collection

The overall color of the coat varies greatly, ranging from dark or reddish brown to yellowish grey, depending on the subspecies and the place. The most characteristic is the Golden Takin –thus called because of its yellowish- gold or creamy white coat, with dark patches at the knees, insteps, muzzle and tail; it is found in the Province of Shaanxi.

The coarse, tough outer coat, which is from 2¾" to 4¾" long, may serve to project the animal from thorny vegetation, while the hairless muzzle is used to root for fodder.

There is obvious with regard to color, with the females being darker than the males. The males have bigger –and, indeed, thicker, more open– horns than the females.

Like all the rupicaprines, the females have four nipples, though there is disagreement as to whether each nipple pertains to a corresponding , or whether there are two nipples for each of two mammary glands.

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The inguinal glands excrete an oily sub- stance onto the animal’s skin that makes it smell like a billy goat.

1.5. Reproduction The female comes in heat late July and early August, normally giving birth to one baby in March, though sometimes two, af- ter an eight-month pregnancy. By May, the young, now two months old, are almost 24 inches high at the withers, and their horns begin to sprout. In the case of the Golden Takin, the males begin to engage in mating contests as early as March.

Golden Takin, from the author’s collection The males signal their dominance by sprinkling patches of ground with their urine, and show their readiness to fight by first lowering their heads, lifting a back leg and stretching out their rigid necks, and then making provocative, threatening movements with their heads and horns. They can tell whether a female is in heat by smelling or licking her anogenital area. The sounds made by the male, which resemble harsh coughing, are more eas- ily detectable in the rutting season, when the animal emits hoarse, bellowing sounds, and even loud snorts.

1.6. Diet The Takin is an all-round herbivore that feeds on grass and the leaves of trees, as well as stripping the latter of their bark Szechuan Takin, from the author’s collection and eating it.

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They change altitudes regularly, moving up high in summer to graze in the alpine meadows above the show line, and then moving back down to the lower bamboo and rho- dodendron zones in winter.

The males are generally solitary, though they may form herds with between 10 and 100 members in Summer. Large herds gather together in favorable areas with good grazing near water and salt deposits.

They leave deep tracks in both earthy and mossy ground, the sign local inhabitants use in order to hunt them. The usual method is to place either foothold traps or other fixed devices with poisoned darts along the trails that they leave.

1.7. State of conservation Unlike the Szechuan Takin, which Sowerby reported to be very plentiful in 1937, the Golden Takin has been considered a not very abundant species. Today both the aforesaid subspecies are included in CITES Appendix II, catalogued as «vulnerable» by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).

2. Ghorals

he common noun, «ghoral», derives from a local term used in Northwest India. The Kingdom: Animalia generic name, Nemorhaeus, is a com- Phylum: Chordata pound derived from the two Latin words, Class: Mammalia T«nemor» (grove or wood) and «haedus» (young goat or kid), signifying a young goat living in a Order: Cetartiodactyla wooded area, although the creature in question hasn’t Suborder: Ruminantia always been defined in this way. For many years, it Family: Bovidae was considered a type of – namely the «gho- ral antelope». There are various types of ghoral, and Subfamily: Caprinae differentiation is difficult. Terms such as «Caprine» Tribe: Rupicaprini and «Urotragus» have been applied to this group of Genus Nemoraedus subspecies at different times, as well as «ghoral ante- lope».

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2.2. Species It is difficult to divide ghorals into species, subspecies and races, since there is little variation among the features that could differentiate them when whole series are compared with each other. Nevertheless, the following subspecies are acknowledged, though each of them has been known under various names: • N. g. arnouxianus (Heude, 1888) • N. g. caudatus (Milne-Edwards, 1867) • N. g. goral (Hardwicke, 1825) • N. g. griseus (Milne-Edwards, 1871).

2.3. Distribution Nowadays, the ghoral can only be found in Asia, the extensive grasslands of Northern Pakistan its most westerly habitat.1 Its northernmost is Manchuria and North Korea, and it also sometimes turns up in the coastal mountain ranges of Siberia. In China, its distribu- tion patterns vary, though it is most commonly found in central and southeastern provinces such as Shaanxi and Szechuan.

2.4. Habitat The ghoral is found in a wide N. caudatus range of habitats, from the mountain- ous zones of Northern Pakistan, at altitudes of between 3,280 and 14,760 feet amidst subtropical vegetation (Pi- N. Goral nus, Quercus, Berberis, etc.), to the N. griseus N. arnouxianus steep-sloped mountainous rainforests of Central China, which have broad- leafed vegetation.

1. It was in this area of Pakistan that Prince Ab- dorreza Pahlevi of Iran collected the ghoral reported by Bill Quimby in his book, «Royal Quest». Ghoral’s distribution map.

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2.5. Description The ghorals are the smallest rupicaprids, even smaller than serows. Height at the with- ers tends to vary between 23 inches and 29 inches, while weight fluctuates between 48 and 77 lbs. Though the horns are generally small, some have been found longer than 9 inches. The number of teeth varies between 30 and 32, with some exemplars having lower canines.

They generally measure around 39 inch- es from head to rump, though males meas- uring over 47inches have been encountered. The front legs are short, making the animal appear to droop with tiredness. Ghorals have woolly layers beneath their normal coats, which cover the whole body except the ears. The color of their outer coats, which grow to a length of over 2" inches, ranges from dull grey to dark brown. White patches may ap- pear on the throat and a dark stripe along the back.

While possessing a small suborbital gland, the ghoral doesn’t have the lachrymal cavity typical of the serow, but does possess interdigital and postcorneal glands. The female has what looks like four mammary Goral from the author’s collection. glands.

2.6. Reproduction Though the ghoral reaches sexual maturity at two or three years of age, it does not begin mating until its third year, entering in rut in autumn and being most sexually active in November. Variations in the onset of breeding can be mapped along a latitudinal cline, taking place earlier in the south (in September) and occurring latest in the northernmost latitude where Manchuria is located. Ovulation, which lasts around 22 hours, is actively de- tected by the male. The gestation period is 180 days, and the female generally has one baby, though she may occasionally produce two. The offspring are able to walk within 30 minutes and are cared for by their mothers for over a year.

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2.7. Diet

The diet is varied and ghorals cannot be classified as grazing entirely on branches or on grass, since they switch between these two alternatives depending on the location and the time of year. Though they may feed on lichens (Usnea sp.), their main fodder is found on trees and bushes. They don’t dig to find food, though where the snow is soft, they part it with their nose to uncover the stumps of bushes and the occasional clump off grass. They cannot easily navigate deep snow and sink up to their backs, unable to walk in layers of snow deeper than 20 inches.

Ghorals live in small groups, normally consisting of females who are related to each other, since males are likely to be loners. They are sedentary rather than migratory, moving between different altitudes according to the season. They typically defend themselves via mimicry, stretching their necks out so as to blend in with the ground and the rocks. When forced to flee, they wait until the last minute to do so, and then dash uphill.

2.8. State of conservation The ghoral species are not threatened with extinction, though all the Ghorals have been listed in CITES Appendix I since 1975 and are considered to be in danger of extinction. Some countries, such as India, protect them and forbid hunting them, while others, such as Nepal (N. goral) and China (N. baileyi) allow them to be hunted as part of the CITES quotas. Though SCI deems adequate the existing population in these two countries, the IUCN, while conceding the scarcity of the data, catalogues the Chinese subspecies as «vul- nerable» and the Nepalese and Indian as «low risk». These discrepancies are due to the fact that their numbers are low and they have hardly been studied in their natural habitat, with most of the specimens described in the literature having been located either in zoos or in museum collections. Serows

he serows are the largest rupicaprines, though there is a controversy about the similarity between the Nemoraedus ghoral and the Capricornis serow. Many authors assign both to the same genus, a dubious comparison not borne out by Tthe animals’ morphological differences. The generic name, «Capricornis», is a compound derived from the two Latin words, «caper», meaning goat and «cor-

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nu», meaning horn. The animal also goes by a series of regional names such as «yurng», «korum», and «liang-pha», which refer to its form.

3.1. Species

All the serows have recently been assigned to six species pertaining to the Capricornis genus, thus leaving the Nemorhaedus genus to be used exclusively for the ghorals that live in Central and Eastern Asia.

• The , Capricornis crispus, which is the best known subspecies, is found on the Kingdom: Animalia islands of Honsh , Ky sh , and . ū ū ū Phylum: Chordata • The Taiwan Serow, Capricornis swinhoei, found Class: Mammalia only in Taiwan, is split into two subspecies. Order: Cetartiodactyla • The , Capricornis sumatraen- sis, the largest of the six species, lives in parts Suborder: Ruminantia of Nepal and the Chinese Province of Gansu, Family: Bovidae

extending as far as Sumatra and the Malayan Subfamily: Caprinae Peninsula. Tribe: Rupicaprini • The Chinese Serow, Capricornis milneedwardsii Genus Capricornis • The , Capricornis rubidus • The Himalayan Serow, Capricornis thar

3.2. Distribution Capricornis sumatraensis (Bechstein, 1799) The serow’s habitat stretches from Indian Kashmir in the foothills of the Himalayas to Assam in Western India, Southern China and Burma. It can also be found in , Malaysia and Sumatra. Nowadays, its only natural habitats are a few wildlife reserves.

3.3. Habitat A mountain animal, it can be found on steep slopes and hides amidst thickets and in small caves, which also serve to shelter it from the sun and rain. It is active both during the day and night, but is most easily spotted at dawn and dusk.

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3.4. Description The Serow is goat-like, but with a short body and long legs. Its head and ears are large, and it has short, dark-colored horns that grow from a broad base and taper to a point, curv- ing gently backwards. These are marked by very prominent transversal rings, the number of which is related to their owner’s age and, in the case of females, to the number of times the specimen has given birth, or more pre- cisely to the number of times she has nursed her young. The front of the skull is flat with a protuberant nose tip. Its clearly vis- C. Crispus ible suborbital gland forms bag-like shapes under the eyes. C. Thar C. Milneedwardsi The color of the coat varies from C. Swinhoei dark- to light-brown, above all in spe- C. Rubidus cific areas such as the tip of the chin, the throat and the neck. The mane is heavy and darker-colored. There are sometimes lighter patches on the face. They have 32 teeth, the most im- C. Sumatrensis portant feature being the canines on the bottom jaw, which are generally lacking in ghorals. They change their Serow’s distribution map. teeth much more quickly than other, similar species, and have all their milk teeth by the time they’re 9 months old. The adult set of teeth appears at 30 months. They have three types of specialized epithelial glands – a suborbital one, an interdigital one on each of their legs, and a prepucial one. These glands - above all the suborbital one, which gets bigger with age and may signal a specimen’s social status - are more highly de- veloped in the males.

3.5. Reproduction Females normally reach sexual maturity when they’re two-and-a-half-years old, though a small percentage of them develops more quickly, becoming sexually mature by the age of

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eighteen months. All females have ovulated by the time they’re three-and-a-half, and the ovulation period lasts from 20 to 21 hours. Males are more precocious and en- ter puberty at the age of six months. They come into heat sometime between Sep- tember and January, depending on the latitude and altitude. The gestation period lasts from 210 to 220 days, with most offspring being born in May and June. They normally give birth to one baby, though they some- times produce two, and have an average life span of 10 years. C. Crispus Though both male and female serows have horns, there is a slight sexual dimorphism, and the male’s horns are longer and, in general, a bit thicker than those of the fe- male. There are also gender differences in the skull, the vertebral column and the limbs.

3.6. Diet Though all-round herbivores, they prefer eating grass to feeding on the leaves of trees and bushes, above all in Spring and Summer, eating a wide variety of species – sometimes as many as 100 different ones. They are not very gregarious animals. The males are usually solitary, while the females are to be found with the offspring they’ve produced in that particular year. Other - nor- mally temporary - social units form, consisting of groups of males or Serow, family groups made up of a male and female and their offspring. They are from the normally territorial, marking their domain with their preorbital glands, and author’s couples form halfway through the year, staying together until Spring. At times collection a male’s may cover that of two females.

3.7. State of conservation One of the biggest threats to the serow is the destruction of its habitat, which forces it to leave its natural surroundings. Another danger is indiscriminate hunting by local inhabit- ants due to their belief that parts of the animal can be used to cure bone ailments.

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All the subspecies listed in CITES Appendix I are endangered species in need of maxi- mum protection. The IUCN possesses little data, but considers the Capricornis crispus (Japanese) variety to be at little risk, while classifying all the other species as «vulnerable» and noting that the population of Capricornis milneedwardsii (China) is trending down- wards. However, the SCI does not believe the latter to be endangered, with the exception of the variety that lives in Sumatra.

3.8. Hunting and conservation Given the dearth of data on all these species, the shortage of specimens, and the lack of study, hunting may come to serve purposes like those of the great expeditions of the XIXth and early XXth centuries, and be a complement to research. This will require coor- dination among many agencies and individuals, and a series of minimal commitments to facilitate the setting up of research projects aimed at collecting materials and compiling information. These would help us to determine possible problems, competitors and preda- tors, as well to find out more about the habitat where these creatures live in order to save them from destruction.

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Ammotragus caucasica

Capra ibex

Hemitragus

Psudois

Ovis ammon

CAPRINAE dalli

Budorcas Ovidos Oreamnus

Rupicapra Naemorhedus

Capricornis

Mioceno Plioceno Pleistoceno Holoceno Terciaria Cuaternario 23 10 5 1,8 0,02

Phylogenetic relation among subfamily Caprinae, showing the relationship between the Budorcas, Naemorhaedus and Capricornis and another taxons. Note that Budorcas, Naemorhaedus and Capricornis differentiate themselves in the Miocene, ten to five million years ago.

Morphologic variables Takin Serow Goral

Adult weigth (kg) 300-350 85-140 25-35

Length of head-body (mm) 1041-2130 1500 820-1300

Height at shoulder (mm) 686-1400 1000 570-711

Length of tail (mm) 70-120 15 76-203

Length of horn (mm) 183-641 280 127-168

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