IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Sarkar, P.; Takpa, J.; Ahmed, R.; Tiwari, S.K.; Pendharkar, A.; ul-Haq, S.; Miandad, J.; Upadhyay, A.; Kaul, R. | |
| Mountain Migrants | |
| 2008 Full Book | |
The Tibetan antelope (_Pantholops hodgsonii_), locally called chiru, is mainly confined to the Tibetan plateau in China. A small population migrates into Chang Thang in eastern Ladakh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. The chiru has a geographical range extending approximately 1,600 km across the Tibetan Plateau, with an eastern limit near Ngoring Hu (Tibet Autonomous Region) and a western limit in Ladakh (India). Large-scale hunting for wool and meat has resulted in a decline of its population and only an estimated 75,000 individuals of this species survive in the world today. Its status in India has not been studied in any detail, although sporadic spot surveys have been done in the past. Similarly, very little information is available on status of wild yak (_Bos grunniens_), the progenitor (_closest ancestor_) of the domestic yak in India. The animal is distributed mainly in the highlands of the Tibetan plateau including the Qinghai province, Tibetan and Xinjiang autonomous regions and the Quilian mountains in the Gansu province. Small nomadic isolated populations are reported from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and even smaller numbers occasionally from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in India. To obtain further information primarily about these two species, the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu & Kashmir (DWP) along with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Indian Army initiated surveys in Ladakh in the years 2005 and 2006. Surveys were conducted in the Chang Thang and Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuaries of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir. The Chang Chenmo (_Chang Thang_) area lies in the eastern part of Ladakh just north of the famous Pangong Lake, while the Karakoram WLS lies in the north-eastern part of Ladakh, south of the Karakoram Pass. The team found 250 - 300 chiru in the Karakoram area in addition to other mammal species. Both male and female chiru were sighted here between altitudes of 4735 m and 5336 m. A total of 230 individuals were sighted (after deleting double counts) in the year 2005 and 45 individuals in 2006. Based on this, it is estimated that between 250-300 individuals occur in this area. Mean group size of chiru was 4.66ñ0.435 and varied between one to 34 individuals during 2005, and 4.5 ñ 2.77 (SE) during 2006. Apart from chiru, other species encountered from the area includes Tibetan wolf (_Canis lupus chanco_), red fox (_Vulpes vulpes_), pale or mountain weasel (_Mustela altaica_), snow leopard (_Uncia uncia_), Ladakh urial (_Ovis vignei_), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), woolly hare (_Lepus oiostolus_), Ladakh pika (_Ochotona ladacensis_), Royle's pika (_Ochotona roylei_), Nubra pika (_Ochotona nubrica_), plateau pika (_Ochotona curzoniae_), Stoliczka's mountain vole (_Alticola stoliczkanus_) and silvery mountain vole (_Alticola argentatus_). |
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