Cat research in China
BAO WEIDONG¹, XU JILIANG², CUI GUOFA² and MICHAEL R. FRISINA³ its, breeding periods, habitat selection, and genetic diversity (Liu et al. 1999, Ren 2002). Cat research in China Taxonomic analysis by traditional and ge- netic methods revealed the Chinese moun- There are 55 species of terrestrial carni- Data collection procedure tain cat, the only endemic cat in China, has a vores in China. Before the mainland was Publications on Chinese wild cat ecology distribution reduced to Qinghai and Sichuan open to the outside world in 1978, most sci- were found by browsing the websites of Provinces (Liao 1988, He et al. 2004). Distri- entific research about wildlife emphasized China National Knowledge Infrastructure bution surveys and population assessment morphological descriptions, geographic dis- (CNKI), Wangfang Data, and international for the jungle cat Felis chaus, manul Oto- tributions, breeding traits, food habits, and journal database of ProQuest, IngentaCon- colobus manul and wildcat Felis silvestris economic values. This scholarship was con- nect, Elsevier, ISI Web of knowledge, and were reported by Yin & Liu (1993) and Jiang solidated into the Fauna Sinica Carnivora Wiley-Blackwell. We also checked China et al. (2005). For marbled cat Prionailurus (Gao 1987). National Library for books and research marmorata and golden cat Catopuma tem- Beginning in 1980 the government of China papers. Related ecological topics, habitat minckii, the only reports were for distribu- also expanded and emphasized the coun- management, population conservation sta- tion by Sun & Gao (1976), and Ren (2002). try’s nature reserves. In 2007 the number tus and recovery trends were analyzed ac- Most of the research on small cats focused of national and provincial reserves reached cordingly. Detailed population distribution on the leopard cat (Han et al. 1995, Luo et 1083 (China environment status bulletin of data and status reports from some reserves al. 1995, Wang et al. 1997, Bai et al. 2004, 2007, http://www.mep.gov.cn/plan/zkgb/). were not used if we considered the data bi- Bao et al. 2005). This large area of 136,256,849 ha (1.4 mil- ased or not based on adequate field survey For medium sized cats there was only one lion km²) of protected land created habitat efforts. report on the distribution of the clouded conditions suitable for the recovery of some leopard Neofelis nebulosa (Yang et al. 2009) wildlife populations. Since 1989 enforce- Results and Analysis and there were two on food habits, suitable ment of China’s Wildlife Conservation Law Taxonomy and status habitats and population numbers of lynx has curtailed illegal hunting and capturing According to Fauna Sinica Carnivora there Lynx lynx in northwest and northeast China of wild animals in many areas. Some car- are 6 genera and 13 species of wild cats in (Abdukadir et al. 1998, Tian et al. 2002). Our nivore populations are recovering, as evi- China, while Smith & Xie (2008) recognized research revealed that hares and birds were denced by more traces, and are even caus- 8 genera and 12 species of felids. The au- the main food for lynx at a nature reserve in 07 ing problems in remote areas by preying on thors of the latter book consider the distribu- Inner Mongolia (Yuan 2009). livestock (Johnson et al. 1996, Zhang 2004, tion of the fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus Studies on big cats have been given much Cai & Jiang 2006, Baatr et al. 2008). in Taiwan to be incorrect, but, even though attention because it is easier to find the ac- Thirteen of the world’s 37 wild cat species this does not confirm its presence in China, tivity traces in the field. Reports from two live in China. Wild cats were once hunted Wang (2003a) claims he saw a fishing cat nature reserves in Shanxi Province revealed everywhere for their high quality fur and pelt in southern Yunnan Province. The Chi- the number of leopards was declining and values in Chinese traditional medicine nese mountain cat Felis bieti, North-China they preyed on livestock in winter when wild (Wang 1998, Sunquist & Sunquist 2002, leopard Panthera pardus japonensis and prey was hard to catch (Wang et al. 1995a, IUCN 2010). Before the 1970’s local resi- South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis Qiu et al. 1998). A field survey was con- dents were encouraged to hunt tigers and are endemic species or subspecies to China ducted in Henan Province and the number of leopards as pests. But the government (Wang & Xie 2004; Table 1). leopards was estimated at 40-68 individu- soon realized that unplanned harvesting All the wild living cat species were as- would push some of these rare animals to sessed as Endangered or Critically Endan- the verge of extinction and conservation gered except the leopard cat Prionailurus measures were put into action from the late bengalensis by the China Species Red List 1970s to the present. However, due to their (Wang & Xie 2004; Table 1). cryptic behavior and low population num- Among the 13 cat species tiger, snow leop- bers, scientific research on carnivores is still ard Panthera uncia and fishing cat are listed rare in China. Details on population number, as Endangered, and Amur tiger P. tigris alta- distribution, and status are needed for plan- ica and Amur leopard P. p. orientalis as Criti- ning effective population management and cally Endangered in the IUCN Redlist (IUCN habitat conservation. 2010). The South China tiger is suspected to In this paper we summarize ecological be extinct in the wild is therefore listed as studies and conservation progress of wild Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the cats in China by reviewing and summariz- Wild; Tilson et al. 2004, Xu et al. 2007, IUCN ing research published since 1987. We 2010). hope this paper will serve as a reference for researchers and policy makers carrying Ecological Studies out scientific studies and designing man- Research studies on the genus Felis sparse- agement plans. ly address population distribution, food hab- Manul (Photo M. Foggin)
Cats in China W. Bao, J. Xu, G. Cui and M. R. Frisina
Table 1. Species distribution and threatened status of wild cats in China.
Conservation Threatened status Genus Species Distribution provinces* category** CHINA IUCN Felis silvestris XJ, GS,NX, SC, YN II CR LC bieti QH, SC II CR VU chaus YN, XZ II EN LC Otocolobus manul XZ, XJ, QH, GS, NMG, HeB, SC II EN NT Pardofelis marmorata YN PC CR VU Catopuma temminckii JX, ZJ, FJ, GD, GX, GZ, HuN, HuB, SC, YN, XZ, AH, HeN, S’X II CR NT Prionailurus bengalensis All provinces except XJ PC VU LC viverrinus TW EN Lynx lynx XJ, XZ, QH, SC, YN, GS, NMG, SX, HeB, HLJ, JL II EN LC Neofelis nebulosa AH, JX, ZJ, FJ,GD, GX, GZ, HuN, HuB, S’X, SC, YN, XZ, GS, TW, HeN I EN VU Panthera pardus XZ, YN, GZ, SC, QH, HuN, HuB, JX, FJ, GD, GX, S’X, SX, HeB, BJ, HeN, ICRNT AH, HLJ, JL tigris XZ, YN, GD, FJ, HuN, JX, HLJ, JL I CR EN
uncia QH, XZ, XJ, GS, SC I CR EN
*Abbreviations stand for provinces and autonomous regions. AH for Anhui Province, BJ for Beijing, FJ for Fujian P, GD for Guangdong P, GS for Gansu P, GX for Guangxi AR, GZ for Guizhou P, HaiN for Hainan P, HeN for Henan P, HuB for Hubei P, HuN for Hunan P, JX for Jiangxi P, NMG for Inner Mon- golia Autonomous Region, SC for Sichuan P, S’X for Shan’xi P, SX for Shanxi P, TW for Taiwan P, XJ for Xinjiang AR, XZ for Xizang AR, YN for Yunnan P, ZJ for Zhejiang P. **I stands for national class one key protection species, II for national class two protection, PC for provincial class. 08 als in the remote mountainous areas for the severe (Zhang et al. 2002). The distribution recent years (http://news.xinhuanet.com/ years 1997-1999 by Wang et al. (2001). The of the Indo-Chinese tiger showed a small school/2007-11/24/content_7136705.htm). authors indicated habitat fragmentation and number of 8-11 near the border of Yunan Studies of snow leopards have recently poaching were the main causes of popula- province and Myanmar at the end of 1990 (Hu surged with the support of World Wildife tion decline. A study on food habits on the et al. 1999). Recently researchers got several Fund (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society South-China leopard Panthera p. amoyensis photos of this tiger subspecies at Xishuang- (WCS) and other international organizations. indicated that food components varied with banna nature reserve which proved the tiger Population density, habitat, activity patterns habitat and prey resources. The main prey is still alive there (Feng et al. 2008). No other and food habits of snow leopard were studied changed from ungulates to bamboo rodents ecological study was conducted for these ti- in Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Autonomous and further diversified with declining habi- gers. Historically the South China tiger was Region (Liu et al. 2003, Ma et al. 2005, Xu et tat quality (Kenneth et al. 1993, Hu 1994). distributed widely from the northwest to the al. 2005, Ma et al. 2006, Xu et al. 2006a, Xu Field surveys indicated a decline in Amur southwest including southern China (Xiang et al. 2006b, Ma et al. 2007, Janecka et al. tiger numbers from 151 in the 1970’s to 20- et al. 1987). During the 1990’s there were 2008, Xu et al. 2008). 30 in the 1980’s. There were 16-22 tigers in still tracks of tigers living in Guangdong and the early 1990’s but the number decreased Jiangxi provinces (Koehler 1991, Yuan et al. Habitat Management to 12-16 tigers during the later 1990’s (Hao 1994, Wang et al 1999), but currently there is The established nature reserves supply et al. 1997). A regional survey found 9-11 no longer any evidence of resident tigers and suitable habitats for all of the wild cats. tigers in Heilongjiang Province in 2004 (Wu they are only suspected to exist in the remote According to the China Red Data book of et al. 1994, Sun et al. 2005), whereas the areas of Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fu- Endangered Animals (Wang 1998) im- number was around 7-9 in Jilin province (Li jian provinces (Liu et al. 2002, Huang et al. proved management efficiency within na- et al. 2001). Predation on livestock by tiger 2003, Huang et al. 2004, Tilson et al. 2004, Liu ture reserves and better enforcement of was severe at the Hunchun nature reserve & Peng 2005). As Tan Bangjie stated in 1982, anti-poaching laws is essential for recovery (Liu et al. 2006) which may imply this area is passive protection measures to prohibit hunt- of cat populations. Since cat populations the main distribution range of Amur tiger in ing are not enough to save the South China require large territories and abundant prey, China. The Bengal tiger is only known to live tiger, habitat rehabilitation and prey popula- their recovery cannot be expected to occur at Motou, Tibet with an estimated population tion recovery must be promoted in advance in a short time period. The problem of live- of 11 in 1996, but this number decreased to (Ma 1996). This goodwill was broken by the stock predation by cats increases with lack 4-5 due to lack of prey (Qiu et al. 1997). The hunting activity to eliminate wild boars, the of natural prey. Meta-populations require problem of livestock predation was locally main prey of tiger, in Jiangxi province in more habitat corridors linked to reserves
CATnews Special Issue 5 Autumn 2010 Cat research in China
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Fig. 1. Overview on the provinces of China. and some nature reserves should be en- habitat degradation can a practical con- Supporting Programs Funded by Min- larged (Gao & Ma 1993). servation plan for population recovery be istry of Science & Technology of China implemented. This is especially important (No.2008BADB0B01), and National Natu- Conclusion in protected areas like nature reserves and ral Science Foundation of China (No. Because the large cats of China are the for those species that are critically endan- 30570305). We are grateful to Urs Breiten- most conspicuous species and attract more gered. We are hopeful that with more ef- moser and two reviewers for comments on attention than smaller cats, ecological fort placed in basic ecological studies and early drafts of this manuscript. research has focused on them. A lack of in curtailing illegal hunting and trading, research funds for studying the small cats wild cat populations will be maintained or has dampened the interest of scientists in allowed to increase. With improved man- 1 College of Biological Sciences and Technolog investigating their ecology. This situation agement wild cat populations should be
Cats in China