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Preliminary Assessment of Large Mammals in the Namcha Barwa Region of South-Eastern Tibet

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Preliminary Assessment of Large Mammals in the Namcha Barwa Region of South-Eastern Tibet ORYX VOL 30 NO 1 JANUARY 1996 Preliminary assessment of large mammals in the Namcha Barwa region of south-eastern Tibet Qiu Ming Jiang and William V. Bleisch In 1994 the authors made two rapid assessments of wildlife in the remote Namcha Barwa region, south-eastern Tibet, China. They conducted interviews, examined and recorded trophies in the possession of local Menba, Luoba and Kangba Tibetans and made opportunistic field observations. Despite the extensive forests in this extremely remote region, wildlife populations appeared to be low except in inaccessible areas along county borders. Frequent reports of tiger predation on cattle, horses and mules in glaciated valleys on the south slope of the Himalayas may indicate a shortage of natural prey. Uncontrolled hunting, human population growth and expedient economic development threaten the survival of large mammals in the region. Habitat ized by Terminalia myriocarpa, Lagerstroemia minuticarpa, Garcinia morella, Sloanea sinensis, The Namcha Barwa region lies within the Fissistigma oldhamii and other broadleaved Linzhi District in the south-east of the Xizang evergreen species. The trees Alingia sp., (Tibetan) Autonomous Region in China Actinodaphne lancifolia and Cryptocarya chinen- (Figure 1). Zoogeographically, it lies at the sis form an understorey. Between 1100 and junction of the Eastern Himalayas, the 2500 m there are well-developed subtropical, Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the Hengduan montane, broadleaved forests, containing oak Mountains and the Assam Region (Zhang et Quercus tungmaiensis and evergreen chinkap- ah, 1982). The Yarlung Tsangpo River (the ins Castanopsis xizangensis and C. lamellosa. Brahmaputra in India) runs from west to east, Alder Alnus nepalensis and birch Betula utilis cutting through a range of high mountains dominate the lower slopes and valley bottoms. dominated by Namcha Barwa (7782 m) and From 2500 to 3000 m, the forest consists of Jala Beri (7151 m). The river bends sharply Yunnan pine Pinus yunnanensis, hemlock south around Namcha Barwa and flows Tsuga dumosa and spruce Picea likiangensis. rapidly down to the Assam Plains in India. In From 3000 to 3700 m, the fir, Abies delavayi, the process, the river creates the world's deep- predominates. Alpine shrub covers the slopes est canyon (Anon., 1994). Within 45 km the between 3700 and 4000 m and the tree-line depth of the gorge spans 700 m at Beibeng to may extend up to 4200 m, depending on local over 7000 m (Figure 1). topographical and edaphic conditions. The The region has a monsoon climate, which upper forest limit is fringed by many rhodo- provides excellent growing conditions for dendron species. Alpine meadows, bare rocks forests. The annual average rainfall is and permanent snow occupy the higher elev- 1000-3000 mm (Editorial Board of the Chinese ations. Geographic Series, 1990). Some of China's best Complex topography has resulted in varied old-growth forests, both in term of species vegetation and uneven wildlife distributions. composition and forest productivity, remain For example, west and north-west of Xiejian here (Xu Fengxiang, pers. comm.). La {la means mountain pass in Tibetan), the The vertical zonation of habitats is dramatic. coniferous forest ends at 2900 m. However, on Tropical monsoon forest is found between 560 southern slopes in Seqi La Mountains, conifers and 1100 m and has a diverse flora, character- extend as high as 4200 m. South and south- ©1996FFI 37 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.229, on 30 Sep 2021 at 10:46:14, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021372 QIU M. J. AND W. V. BLEISCH District seat 0 County seat o Township County boundary -*-*-* Travel route Figure 1. The Namcha Barwa region. Shaded areas indicate protected areas. 1, Dongjiu Red Goral Reserve; 2, Bomi Gangxiang Nature Reserve; 3, Niela Tsangpo Protected Area; 4, Deyanggou Takin Protected Area; 5, Buqiong Lake Protected Scenic Spot; 6, Bajie Giant Cypress Cupressus gigantea Protected Spot (based on Liu, 1993; Yin and Liu, 1993). west of the Xiejian La, the fauna is dominated nebulosa, snow leopard Uncia uncia, takin by Oriental species (Cai and Zhang, 1980; Budorcas taxicolor and red goral Nemorhaedus Feng et al, 1980; Du and Xi, 1993), while baileyi - are on Schedule I of China's protected Palaearctic elements increase sharply north wildlife. An additional 65 species are on and north-west of the range. The northern Schedule II (Yin and Liu, 1993). Table 1 lists limit of tropical Asian fauna lies further south, the major protected mammal species in the towards the disputed border between India region. and China. Early western explorers described the abun- dant and diverse animals and plants in the re- Methods gion (e.g. Ward, 1930; Bailey, 1957). Many of the mammal and bird species still occur but The authors made two assessments of wildlife their survival is threatened. Among them, 31 in the Namcha Barwa region, between 22 species - including tiger Panthera tigris, April and 27 May and between 22 September leopard P. pardus, clouded leopard Neofelis and 13 October, 1994 (Figure 1). Local Menba, 38 © 1996 FFI, Oryx, 30 (1), 37-44 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.229, on 30 Sep 2021 at 10:46:14, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021372 LARGE MAMMALS IN THE NAMCHA BARWA REGION OF SOUTH-EASTERN TIBET Finger-like projections of tropical and subtropical forests along the Yarlung Tsangpo (Ming Jiang Qiu). Table 1. Major protected mammal species in the Namcha Barwa region, south-eastern Tibet English name Scientific name Chinese list IUCN list Assam macaque Macaca assamensis I - Rhesus monkey Macaca mulata II - Hanuman langur Sentnopithecus entellus II - Dhole Cuon alpinus II V Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus II V Brown bear Ursus arctos II - Lesser panda Ailurus fulgens II V Eurasian otter Lutra lutra II - Small-clawed otter Anoyx cinerea II K Large Indian civet Viverra zibetha II - Small Indian civet Viverricula indica II - Spotted linsang Prionodon pardicolor II - Yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula II - Tiger Panthera tigris I E Leopard Panthera pardus I - Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa I V Snow leopard Uncia uncia I E Golden cat Felis temmincki II I Jungle cat Felis chaus II - Southern musk deer Moschus sifanicus II - Forest musk deer Moschus berezovskii II - Black musk deer Moschus fuscus II - Gongshan muntjac Muntiacus gongshanensis II - Red deer Cervus elaphus subsp? II - Blue sheep Pseudois nayaur II - Takin Budorcas taxicolor I - Goral Nemorhaedus goral II - Red goral Nemorhaedus baileyi I - Serow Capricornis sumatraensis II I Note: English names follow Tan (1992); scientific names follow Nowak (1991). Chinese Wildlife Law prohibits killing or trapping Class I or Class II species without the Central or Provincial Government's permission, respectively. The IUCN red list definition: E, Endangered, V, Vulnerable, I, Indeterminate and K, Insufficiently known (Groombridge, 1994). ) 1996 FFI, Oryx, 30 (1), 37-44 39 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.229, on 30 Sep 2021 at 10:46:14, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021372 QIU M. J. AND W. V. BLEISCH Luoba and Kangba Tibetan villagers were in- confirmed. No large vertebrate species were terviewed; when required, pictures and/or observed in habitats acessible to humans, drawings were presented and standard which suggests that densities are very low ex- Tibetan names for animals (Feng et ah, 1986) cept in the most remote aeas. were used to enhance communication. A total distance of about 270 km was walked. The complex topography, dense vegetation (visi- Primates bility as low as 3 m) and mists allowed only Macaca assamensis and M. mulata were seen opportunistic field observations. briefly in a forest in Milin at about 2700 m and Cliff faces, grassy swards, riversides and skins of the former species were frequently other open areas were scanned with 10 x 30 found in villagers' homes (Table 2). It was re- binoculars and a 15 x 45 telescope. When pos- ported consistently that hanuman langurs sible, animals observed were aged and sexed. occur only on the west side of the Yarlung The altitude of sightings, tracks, feeding sites Tsangpo, which may be the eastern limit of and other evidence of animal presence were this species's distribution. Yin and Liu (1993) recorded. To assess hunting intensity, fresh reported that the hoolock gibbon Hylobates trophies in or around village houses along the hoolock is found in southern Motuo, which it travel routes were recorded. When a house was impossible to visit because of restrictions. contained more than one trophy that might have come from the same animal, such as a hide and a skull, they were counted as one Carnivores animal. Tiger predation was investigated by At Jiala (Gyala) on the Yarlung Tsangpo, vil- interviewing county officials and examining lagers reported that snow leopard and its feeding sites. Families with heavy losses of main prey, blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, used to livestock were visited to investigate the con- occur there at higher altitudes, but have re- flicts between tiger predation and livestock treated further down the valley because of grazing. Forest cover was estimated from hunting. At Damu we examined the fur of a 1:100,000 scale maps in reference to data pub- young clouded leopard, which had been shot lished by the Institute of Geography, Chinese by a local villager. Tiger tracks were found in Academy of Sciences (1990). Gedang, where examination of a kill con- firmed a case of tiger predation on livestock.
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