Webb, R., Francis, S., Telfer, P., & Guillemont, A. (2016). Chinese mountain cat and Pallas's cat co-existing on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan. Cat News 63: 31-33.
Keywords: 4CN/behaviour/chinese mountain cat/co-existence/co-occurrence/felis bieti/habitat/Manul/Otocolobus manul/Pallas's cat/sighting/status/threat
Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti remained virtually unknown in the wild until Yin et al. (2007) presented the first photographs of the species in the wild taken on the Tibetan Plateau. Sanderson et al. (2010) provide an excellent overview of what is known about the species but to date there appears to be little information on the species ability to co-exist alongside other carnivores. Here we provide what appears to be the first evidence of Chinese mountain cat living alongside both Pallas's cat Otocolobus manul and Tibetan fox Vulpes ferrilata in the Rouergai area on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan. original contribution
RICHARD WEBB1*, SID FRANCIS2, PHIL TELFER3 AND ALAIN GUILLEMONT4 ning (three cubs were seen) approximately 200 metres away from one of the quarries. Chinese mountain cat and The sighting just before dusk on 2 April 2016 (sighting 5) demonstrates this well Pallas’s cat co-existing on the when RW flushed a Chinese mountain cat no more than 50 metres from a Pallas’s cat Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan that RW and SF had been watching for over 15 minutes as does AG’s (sighting 8) of two Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti remained virtually unknown in the wild until Yin Chinese mountain cats and two Pallas’s cats et al. (2007) presented the first photographs of the species in the wild taken on the in the same quarry on the same night. Tibetan Plateau. Sanderson et al. (2010) provide an excellent overview of what All the Chinese mountain cats observed is known about the species but to date there appears to be little information on showed no fear of people being readily ap- the species ability to co-exist alongside other carnivores. Here we provide what proachable. Sighting 3 involved an individual appears to be the first evidence of Chinese mountain cat living alongside both which allowed prolonged views lasting over Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul and Tibetan fox Vulpes ferrilata in the Rouergai area an hour at ranges down to 100 metres. The on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan. first observation noted in sighting 5 involved an individual that allowed us to follow it on Webb et al. (2014) reported on a sighting hough one Chinese mountain cat was seen foot at ranges down to 50 metres for over 30 of Pallas’s cat in disturbed habitat north of within a kilometre of human habitation. minutes and sightings 6 and 7 both involved Rouergai (Zoige), Sichuan, China in 2012. individuals allowing very close views from Since that visit the Rouergai area has be- Sightings our vehicle. come a reliable area for observing not only Between May 2015 and April 2016, 13 dif- Likewise all the Pallas’s cats seen in the Pallas’s cat but also Chinese mountain cat. ferent observers have recorded Chinese quarry 25 kms north of Rouergai allowed Here we report sightings of Pallas’s cat and mountain cats at five different localities in close approach on foot, on one occasion Chinese mountain cat from 2015 and 2016 the Rouergai area. Seven of these have also down to less than 30 metres. that all have occurred within a 60 km ra- recorded Pallas’s cat at one or more of the lo- Another interesting observation noted in dius of Rouergai. Two of the locations are calities. The sightings are summarised in the 2016 is that whereas the Chinese mountain old quarries (Fig. 1) in heavily grazed areas table below (Table 1). The Chinese Mountain cats were observed hunting both in the late 31 at 3,500 m, north of Rouergai (Fig. 2). There cats have very distinct and obvious ear tufts afternoon and at night, and were seen re- are large colonies of plateau (black-lipped) and a fairly bushy tail with broad dark rings turning to the quarry at first light and lea- pika Ochotona curzoniae close to both (see photos). Pallas’s cats have short legs ving at dusk, all the night-time Pallas’s Cat quarries, and Himalayan marmot Marmota and a stocky compact build. The face is broad observations were of what appeared to be himalayana is common throughout the and flattened and its ears are small, rounded cats resting or sleeping among the rocks. Rouergai area. In the area around the two and low on the head (Fig. 8). In addition the two Pallas’s cats that RW quarries there is considerable daytime di- and SF saw prior to dark were both animals sturbance from sheep and yak herders alt- Behaviour entering rather than leaving the quarries. hough there is little disturbance at night or This series of sightings indicates that This may indicate that Pallas’s cat in this around dawn. Pallas’s and Chinese mountain cats can live area, are more diurnal or crepuscular when The other three sites are open grasslands in close proximity to each other, and also hunting and that the two cats may hunt at with relatively little disturbance to the alongside Tibetan foxes which were also different times of day when inhabiting the south-east and south-west of Rouergai alt- seen in both quarries and which were den- same area.
Fig. 1. Quarry habitat of Chinese mountain and Pallas’s cats (Photo Fig. 2. Hunting grounds of Chinese mountain cat and Pallas’s cat R. Webb). (Photo R. Webb).
CATnews 63 Sprig 2016 Webb et al.
Table 1. Details on observations of Chinese mountain cats and Pallas’s cats around Rouergai in 2015 and 2016.
No. Location Date Details of sightings Observers
1 Grassland 52 kilometres south-west of Rouergai May 2015 An unusually dark individual observed hunting during Sid Francis, Yann and, 18 kilometres south of Tangkexiang. the day (Fig. 3). Muzica, Daniel Lopez- Velesco, Miguel Rocco and Guillermo Rodriguez Lazero
2 Quarry c.35 kms north of Rouergai 01.10.2015 One individual observed hunting in adjacent Sid Francis, Paul Carter, grassland prior to dusk, another spotlighted after Dominique Brugiere, dark and a third found dead (Carter 2015; Fig. 5) Holly Faithful.
3 Quarry c.25 kms north of Rouergai 11.11.2015 One photographed in the quarry at night and also Sid Francis, Phil Telfer observed the following night (Telfer 2015; Fig. 6). and Steve Morgan
4 Quarry c.35 kms north of Rouergai 01.04.2016 One watched hunting for 15 minutes an hour before Richard Webb dark a kilometre from the quarry. A Pallas’s cat was observed in the quarry two days later.
5 Quarry c.25 kms north of Rouergai 01.04.2016 One individual hunting c.100 metres from the quarry Richard Webb and Sid at night. On the following day one hunting c.100 Francis metres from the quarry immediately prior to dawn and observed to enter the quarry. Possibly the same individual flushed from just above the quarry prior to dusk the same day. A Pallas’s cat was also observed in the same quarry on 31 March 2016 and 32 the following two nights.
6 Grassland c.5 kms south-east of Rouergai 03.04.2016 A single animal hunting at night. Observed for 15 Richard Webb and Sid minutes (Webb & Francis 2016; Fig. 4). Francis
7 Valley c.40 kms south-west of Rouergai 04.04.2016 A single animal hunting at night. Observed for five Sid Francis and Richard minutes at ranges down to three metres (Fig. 7). Webb
8 Quarry c.25 kms north of Rouergai 14.04.2016 Two individuals observed in the quarry at night. Two Alain Guillemont and Pallas’s cats were present in the quarry at the same Zeng Zhang time, one also having been seen the night before (Figs. 8 and cover photo of this issue).
Fig. 3. Chinese mountain cat, a darker individual, 18 kilometres Fig. 4. Chinese mountain cat with distinctive heavily barred tail. 5 ki- south of Tangkexiang, Sichuan, May 2015 (Photo Y. Muzika). lometres south-east of Rouergai, Sichuan, April 2016 (Photo R. Webb).
CATnews 63 Spring 2016 Chinese mountain cat in Sichuan, China
Fig. 5. Dead Chinese mountain cat, ca. 35 kms north of Rouergai, Fig. 6. Chinese mountain cat, ca. 25 kilometres north of Rouergai, Sichuan, October 2015 (Photo P. Carter). Sichuan, November 2015. (Photo P. Telfer).
33 Fig. 7. Chinese mountain cat, 40 kilometres south-west of Rouer- Fig. 8. Pallas’s cat, 25 kilometres north of Rouergai, Sichuan, April gai, Sichuan, April 2016 (Photo R. Webb). 2016 (Photo A. Guillemont).
Status and threats SF has been visiting the Rouergai area since Threatened Species 2015: e.T8539A50651398, According to the IUCN Red List (Riordan et al. 2007 and has noted a series of developments downloaded on 14 April 2016. 2015), the current range of Chinese mountain that could adversely affect the viability of the Sanderson J., Yin Y. & Drubgayai N. 2010. Of the cats is thought to be restricted to the provin- local cat population. Most notable is the in- only endemic cat species in China. The Chinese ces of Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and creased vehicle traffic that brings a greater mountain cat – Felis bieti. Cat News Special Xinjiang. This is in contrast to the findings danger of road kill and more disturbance from Issue 5, 18-21. of He et al. (2004), who found after careful tourism. Also evident is the changing face of Telfer P. 2015. Field Report. A short mammal trip examination of all records that the Chinese the grasslands where increasing use of com- to Sichuan 8th – 18th Nov 2015. Available at mountain cat is confined to the provinces of mercial grasses, fertilizer and irrigation may http://www.mammalwatching.com/Palearc- Qinghai, Sichuan and maybe Gansu. They did pose a threat in the form of habitat change. tic/palearctchina.html. not find any reliable evidence for the other Unfortunately, the cause of the death of the Webb R. & Francis S. 2016. Field Report. Sichu- provinces. Our sightings indicate that not individual found in October 2015 (Fig. 4) was an Spring 2016 Tangjiahe, Rouergai and Baixi only does Chinese mountain cat still occur in not established. 28 March – 5 April 2016. Available at http:// Sichuan – as also described by Chen et al. www.mammalwatching.com/Palearctic/pa- (2005) and Yin et al. (2007) – it appears to be References learctchina.html. reasonably common at least in the Rouergai Carter P. 2015. Field report. Report on a Mammal Webb R., Pain D., McNiven D & Francis S. 2014. area. Trip to Sichuan Province, China (28 Sep – 5 Oct Pallas’s cat in disturbed habitat on the Tibetan Sanderson et al. (2010) suggest that threats 2015). Available at http://www.mammalwat- Plateau. Cat News 60, 19-20. to Chinese mountain cat are ‘principally ac- ching.com/Palearctic/palearctchina.html. Yin Y., Drubgyal, Achu, Lu Z. & Sanderson J. First cidental killing through the control of rodents Chen N., Li L., Shan S., Yin Y. & Sanderson J. 2005. Photographs in Nature of the Chinese Moun- using poisons and targeted hunting for the Status of the Chinese Mountain Cat in Sichuan tain Cat. Cat News 47, 6-7. illegal trade in furs’. It has also been sugge- Province (China). Cat News 43, 25-27. sted that hybridisation with domestic or fe- He L., García-Perea R., Li M. & Wei F. 2004. Distri- 1 Poole, UK ral cats may also propose a threat. We have bution and conservation status of the endemic *
CATnews 63 Sprig 2016