Gaoligonshan Yunnan Botany Expedition 2018 Part 4

GAOLIGONSHAN YUNNAN BOTANY EXPEDITION 2018 PART 4 The animals of Gaoligong are a rich and diverse complex mosaic of palearctic, oriental and local endemic species adapted to nearly all the inland climates: from southern subtropical to arctic, and hot dry valleys. The area supports over 25% of China's animal species, many being relict and endangered. The records list and incredibly diverse list of 173 mammals (81 endemic), 417 birds (22 endemic), 59 reptiles (27 endemic), 36 amphibians (25 endemic), and 27 (8 endemic) papilionids (swallowtail butterfly) specie, a concentration of the country's rare and endangered animals within the nominated area: 80 are listed in the Red Book of Chinese animals, 20 of Three parallel Rivers area in box is located in the North-South Hengduan mountains and Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze Rivers drain from the Tibetan plateau south, allowing monsoon and tropical moisture and temperatures to penetrate into the Chinese temperate forests in the east, and the Palearctic temperate forests and alpine of Tibet, creating the richest temperate diversity in flora and fauna distributed by elevation in the world. which are considered endangered, 57 are listed in the IUCN Red List of the world's Threatened Animals, 6 of them endangered. The Three parallel Rivers Area including Gaoligongshan in Yunnan are centered at the edge of three different biogeographical regions: East Asian, Southeast Asian and Tibetan (Qinghai). The Himalayas span from east to west, blocking the Indian monsoons from traveling north, creating a rain shadow on the drier Tibetan plateau. The Hengduan mountains are the eastern extension of the Himalayas and change directional alignment from to north to south, creating parallels mountain ranges and river systems of the Mekong, Yangtze and Nu that act as a corridor where species from each realm meet, overlap, and reach their limits of distribution: Subtropical and evergreen broadleaf forests blend with montane forests and arctic/alpine ecosystems. Two- thirds of the fauna of the area are either endemic, or of Himalayan-Hengduan and Hengduan Shan types. Animals are typical of north temperate and cold continental temperate zones, the Qinghai -Tibetan plateau/central Asian zone, the East Asian zone, and the Tropical Asia- temperate Asia type. I was here for the amazing flower diversity, but having done my graduate work in wildlife science in the Pacific Northwest, I also hoped to be able to observe and film the tremendous diversity of wildlife once present in much of western Yunnan. I was aware of the great hunting pressure from local ethnic groups over the past few decades, but still had hope to see goral, tufted deer, taken, and some species of pheasants. Gaoligongshan is one of the last wild refuges left in Yunnan and lying on the border with Myanmar and the Dulong River to the west, and the Lancang (Mekong) River valley to the east, the narrow mountain range still supports most of the endangered species. The mosaic is enriched by the wide variety of altitude-related species, the greatest density of which is in the mid-level montane forest belt that rises in elevation on the mountains of the drier east. Unlike my home in the Coastal Range of Washington state, British Columbia and SE Alaska, the fauna here is considerably more complex in flora and fauna. Yunnan is dominated in composition by the Oriental region that includes temperate and tropical, but with several species from the Palearctic. GaoligonGshan is rich in endemic species (about 40) and in forest species. There are only four species of deer including elk in Cervidae family in the Pacific northwest, but Yunnan, especially Gaoligong has more than 10. These include the Indian Muntjac deer Muntiacus muntjac. It is the smallest of the deer with a reddish coat, called the ‘leaf deer’ by local hunters. Muntjacs overlap in distribution with a medium-sized red barking deer, which was often seen in lowlands and edge habitat along with rarer sightings of the rare Gongshan muntjac M. gongshanensis. Also, in the deer family are the more common tufted deer Elaphodus cephalophus and the Indian muntjac, both but heavily hunted. The musk deer Moschus spp. has almost disappeared as populations of musk deer in China are declining rapidly, where the musk deer’s glands are the most sought-after wildlife parts for trade. Snare lines, sometimes extending several kilometers, are set for these animals in traditional hunting areas. The skins, while not considered valuable for trade, are used for cold-weather hats. Most hunters considered musk deer to be uncommon to rare, with numbers declining rapidly. The large elk like sambar Cervus unicolor have disappeared from lower Gaoligong but a remnant population is growing in northern Gaoligong. Rarer large mammals of the area include: musk deer Muschus fuscus, sambar Cervus unicolor, the Bovid goat-antelopes takin Budorcus taxicolor (VU) and red serow Capricornis rubidus, red goral Naemorhedus baileyi (VU) and Chinese goral N. griseus (VU), Gongshan muntjac Muntiacus gongshanensis, and the dulong ox or gaur Bos gaurus. Wildlife that also still found in remnant populations in Gaoligong include primates Hoolock gibbon Bunopithecus hoolock and rhesus monkey, the marbled cat, red panda Ailurus fulgens,and the Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla, Slow loris Nycticebus coucang, Himalayan black bear Ursus thibetanus (VU), sunbear Helarctos malayanus, and the large Indian civet. wild dog Cuon alpinus (EN), smooth- coated otter Lutrogale perspicillata (VU). Rare small mammals include the web-footed watershrew Nectogale elegans, Chinese shrew mole Uropsilus soricipes, Black giant squirrel Ratufa bicolor, and Gaoligong pika Ochotona gaoligongensis. Historically the Sumatran rhino Dicerorhinus sumatrensis was once known in Gaoligong on the Myanmar border until the early 1950’s, along with the Asian elephant Elephas maximus that disappeared in 1956. As many as 55 species of plants are also endangered. The Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock is still found in small populations in Tenchong on the western Gaoligong side from 2000-2800 meters (6626-9276 feet), and along both the northern and southern sections of the Gaoligongshan. I never heard them in Baihualing, or north, but this subspecies of gibbons like others are dimorphic, with black males and brown females. They are more common in Myanmar. There are three species of macaque: the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta, Assam M assamensis, and stump-tailed M arctoides, all heavily hunted. Other species include the Phayres leaf monkey Trachypithecus pileatus (VU), and several small populations of the endemic Yunnan snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti (EN), a subspecies of R strykeri with black fur, white face and chest, and a recessed nose and a propensity to sneeze when it rains. The family Bovidae includes wild cattle, sheep and antelope-goats. Representatives in the Pacific Northwest include bighorn sheep and mountain goats, the latter related to the serow in Yunnan. With a range that crosses the Himalayas to China, the Blue or Bahral sheep Pseudois nayaur look much like the Stone and bighorn sheep of North America and are common in northern Yunnan including the Meili Mountains. They are usually seen above timberline and in open rocky terrain from 2500 to 5500 meters (8282-18,221 feet). We didn’t see them or sign of scat indicating their presence in Gaoligong, however we did encounter a relative, a herd of twenty takin Budorcas taxicolor at the foot of Mt Gawagebo that are related and found generally between 1500 and 4500 m (4970-14,908 feet). Takin have been heavily hunted in the past for meat, and their horns and skins that are purchased by Chinese traders. Some hunters consumed takin flesh as a tonic. Takin, like red panda migrate to lower elevations, close to villages, during the winter. Within the goat family are the red goral Naemorhedus baileyi (VU), that lives in the higher elevation areas of extreme northern Gaoligong, but in very low numbers. With a reported distribution limited to North Myanmar and adjacent parts of Assam, western Yunnan and south-east Tibet this small goral is usually found in mountainous areas above 2500 m (8282 feet). The red goral is heavily hunted for food and trade, with the meat consumed locally and the skins sold to traders. Many hunters claimed to depend on the meat of red goral and black muntjac for their long hunting journeys for musk deer. The black colored Chinese goral is less common. And there are the goat antelope Chinese serow Naemorhedus sumatraensis with head and body brownish-black and the legs below the knees rusty-red, and N sumatraensis rubidus, the red serow, which is smaller, red in color and with a shorter mane than that of the black subspecies China. And the banteng Bos javanicus, now extirpated, was an important prey species for tiger and leopard. Difficult to see but known in Gaoligong include the red panda Ailurus fulgens (VU), reported between 2200 and 4800 m (7288-15,902 feet), and considered relatively common. Hunters reported red pandas close to their villages when animals migrated down from the higher elevations during the winter. Although hunters did not actively seek this animal, they killed them when they encountered them, or when they captured them in snares set on the ground for musk deer. Red panda skins were purchased by Chinese traders. The mustelids include the black-striped weasel Mustela strigidorsa, stone marten Martes foina, known from rocky, open areas of south-west China and the Himalayas above 1500 m (4970 feet), and the yellow- throated marten Martes flavigula. Other small mammals include the black giant squirrel Ratufa bicolor and slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis, southern subtropical to tropical forests below 1800 meters. Parts are used unfortunately in Chinese alleged cures for rheumatism. They are also depressed because of human hunting pressure.

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