CHAPTER SEVEN

New Wildlife Sightings in Qinghai Province

Introduction (back to top)

Wildlife was observed on many occasions in Qinghai between May 1995 and December 1999. I undertook specific surveys in several localities, including the Datong Mountains in northern Gangcha, around Jiayi in Gonghe, in the eastern Kunlun Mountains in Dulan, around Ku Lake in Maduo, and in Luoxu Nature Reserve in Shiqu (near Yushu, but in northwest Sichuan) (Figure 40). Most wildlife sightings, however, were made on an ad hoc basis while conducting other work, most notably the coordination of a snow disaster relief operation and assisting with several development projects in the province (Foggin 1998b, 1999a, 1999b). Wildlife sightings were made from vehicles, on horseback, and on foot. Tibetan pastoralists also gave many verbal accounts of the distribution and the status of local wildlife populations. Observation of 18 mammal species and approximately 140 bird species are reported in this chapter. Several endemic, unique, or ecologically important mammals of the Tibetan plateau are also described in greater detail.

Figure 40. Main survey areas and mammal sightings in Qinghai (1995-1999)

Wildlife Observations, 1995-1999 (back to top)

Qinghai’s avifauna was surveyed intensively in several locations in Qinghai (and also in Sichuan and Gansu provinces), and birds were always identified if possible whenever they were seen. Specifically, bird surveys were conducted in northern Gangcha (south of the Datong Mountains, 4 days, October 1996; north of the Datong Mountains, 12 days, May 1997), in the vicinity of Jiayi village in Gonghe (from the lake’s shoreline and Daotanghe marsh up to the summits of the Qinghai Nanshan; many trips, all seasons), and in Luoxu Nature Reserve (LNR) and its surrounding area (8 days in July 1999). Many incidental observations also were made in many parts of Qinghai and in the grasslands of southern Gansu. In addition to personal observations of Qinghai’s avifauna, species identified by two experienced birders (Dr. Jukka Harjula and Mr. Jesper Hornskov) and those reported by Song et al. (1998) are noted in Table 20. Dr. Harjula and I observed birdlife together on two occasions, on a 2-day trip to Qinghai Lake in June 1998 and on a 15-day trip to Suojia, in Zhiduo, in March 1999. Mr. Hornskov also has conducted numerous bird surveys in the province and has kindly shared a manuscript that lists many of his observations (Hornskov 1999). Song et al. (1998) provide additional insight into the avifauna of the northeastern part of the Tibetan plateau (in southern Gansu) by dividing their observations into two broad categories, species that were seen in swamp meadow and species seen in alpine meadow (designated in Table 20 as “Song I” and “Song II,” respectively). The presence of each species in three geographic areas of Qinghai (i.e., in the Qinghai Lake area, Yushu prefecture, and Guoluo prefecture) and the general status of each species that I identified (around 140 species) are indicated in Table 20. One hundred and ninety bird species are thus noted as present or highly probable in Qinghai, a number that comprises a large portion (around 70 percent) of the 265 species previously reported for the province (Carey 1996).

Table 20. Bird species observed in Qinghai or (Click here for MS Word 2000 file: Table 20 - Bird list)

Of particular interest are the black stork, golden eagle, Pallas’ fish eagle, lammergeyer, black-necked crane, Severtzov’s grouse, (nationally protected species, Category I), whooper swan, Accipitridae, Falconidae, eagle owl, little owl, Himalayan snowcock, Tibetan snowcock, white eared pheasant, blue eared pheasant (nationally protected species, Category II), Hume’s ground jay (the only truly endemic genus on the Tibetan plateau), Roborovski’s rosefinch, Kozlov’s bunting (nearly endemic to Qinghai); and the large variety of snowfinches, rosefinches, redstarts, larks, buntings, and corvids so typical of the Tibetan plateau.

Many mammals also were seen in Qinghai, both while conducting wildlife surveys and while involved in other (development) work. Eighteen species were thus identified between 1995 and 1999 (Table 21).

Table 21. Mammal species observed in Qinghai or (Click here for MS Word 2000 file: Table 21: Mammal list)

Mammal sightings include sighting a Pallas’ cat and Chinese desert cat, several wolves, numerous herds of Tibetan wild ass, and several herds of Tibetan antelope. Glover’s pika also was seen in the southwest of the province, and a snow leopard scrape was seen high in the Kunlun Mountains. As noted in Figure 40, most large mammals were observed in intensively surveyed areas (e.g., the Datong Mountains in northern Gangcha) or in remote areas of the province, most notably in Maduo – which is high, very remote, and has one of the lowest human population densities in the province (around 0.4 people/km²) – and the greater Kekexili area (in Suojia township, and along the Golmud-Lhasa highway). A brief description of several ungulates (Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, Tibetan wild ass, wild yak, blue sheep, argali, and white-lipped deer), two predators (snow leopard, Tibetan brown bear), and a keystone species (plateau pika) of the Tibetan plateau are provided below.

Tibetan antelope / Chiru (Pantholops hodgsoni) (back to top)

“With their rather chunky bodies and slender legs, chirus are reminiscent of antelopes. Adult males stand about 83 cm high at the shoulder (measured from the hoof tip) and weigh up to about 40 kg…. The male’s most conspicuous antelope-like feature is the long, slender, black horns, which rise almost vertically from the head, curve slightly back in the distal half, and then terminate with smooth rapier-like tips pointing forward. … The coat of adult males is dense and woolly, with hairs 4-6 cm long on neck and body. The summer pelage is reddish fawn with light gray and brown tones grading to white on the underside. … The face and the front of the legs are dark gray. … Females are about 74 cm tall at the shoulder and average about 26 kg …. They are hornless, unlike other female caprids. Their coat is fawn-colored, almost pinkish, often with rust brown on the nape, blending into the whitish underside. A pale white area encircles the tip of the muzzle and the eyes. The top of the muzzle and front of the legs are grayish. The young are colored like the females” (Schaller 1998).

The Tibetan antelope, or chiru, has received considerable attention recently, both in the scientific community (World Wide Fund for Nature 1998, Harris et al. 1999) and in the national and international press (Deng 1998, Rennie 1998, Bay 1999, McCarthy and Florcruz 1999, ‘Xining Declaration…’ 2000). The most significant threat to its survival is ongoing large-scale poaching, usually by non-local people, to obtain the antelope’s wool known as shatoosh (Schaller 1996, Xinhua News Agency 2000, ‘Xining Declaration…’ 2000). According to Harris et al. (1999), “poaching of antelope has become a serious problem throughout the Tibetan plateau in recent years, and … an entire subpopulation can disappear … within a relatively short time-frame.” Fortunately, protective legislation began to be enforced more widely in 1999, and several education and anti-poaching propaganda campaigns are now ongoing in Qinghai. Miller and Schaller (1997b) note that although a few small Tibetan antelope populations are sedentary, most are migratory, and they suggest there is evidence for four main migratory populations. One of these migratory groups is found in Qinghai, and another group may cross seasonally into Qinghai from adjacent areas of northern Tibet. Miller and Schaller (1997b) followed the latter population in 1994 and found that

“in May, the pregnant females with their female offspring of the previous year migrate north along traditional routes to give birth. In 1994 we observed migrating herds on May 30-31 about 40 km northeast of the settlement of Garco. The chiru continued northeast across hills and plains, crossing a pass at about 5,300m, to an area about 40 km south of lake Dogai Coring from where they then evidently moved northeast and then probably north to give birth somewhere near the Tibet-Qinghai border. In two days (May 30 and 31, 1994) we counted approximately 1,000 female antelope. The exact location of the birthing grounds for this population is still unknown. From May 30 to June 26, 1994, we tallied 1,825 male antelope along a 1,250 km survey route north of the settlement of Shuanghu.”

And in another survey area in Qinghai, around 20,000 km² in size, Schaller et al. (1991) found that

“chiru were concentrated in two localities: the Golo Valley north of Totohe, where 267 animals were counted, and a 2100 km² tract north of Wudaoliang where mean transect density was 1.47 chiru km^-2, or ~3087 animals… As chiru were rare outside the concentration areas, the total number of animals was ~3500-4000, or 0.18-0.20 km^-2 (Schaller and Ren 1988). Also tallied within the transect strips were 413 kiang, 90 Tibetan gazelles, and 9 wild yaks (all males). … In the area of concentration of chiru near Wudaoliang, there were an estimated 222 kiang (0.1 animals km^-2) and 122 gazelles (0.06 animals km^-2).”

It is in almost exactly the same location where Schaller et al. (1991) saw over 3,000 Tibetan antelope in the mid-1980s, near Wudaoliang on the Golmud-Lhasa highway (about 200 km southwest of Golmud), that I observed around 1,150 Tibetan antelope on 11 June 1995, in four distinct groups, between 16:00 and 18:00 h in the evening. The Tibetan antelope were all female (adult and young), and were apparently undisturbed by our passing vehicle (a public bus) or by the presence of domestic livestock and a herder less than 200 m away. All four sub-groups were slowly moving northward, presumably to their birthing grounds. Around two years later, two groups totaling 22 Tibetan antelope were observed on 25 July 1997, and one group comprised of at least 142 antelope was observed three days later, on 28 July 1997, also northeast of Wudaoliang. Of the latter group, 104 antelope were female and 38 were young (i.e., slightly over one-third of the females had young with them). All the animals were grazing or walking slowly in a southward direction. The herd was observed at a distance of around 5 km, aided by 8x binoculars and a 15-40x spotting scope. No male antelope were observed.

These observations should also be compared with Harris et al. (1999) who searched for but failed to find almost any Tibetan antelope in Wild Yak Valley in September 1997, less than 100 km north of Wudaoliang. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that Tibetan antelope were the most abundant ungulate in the same valley only several years earlier, with over 2,000 individuals in 1991 (Harris 1993, Harris and Miller 1995). It remains unclear, though, if the animals described in the present observation are part of the Wild Yak Valley population, or if they are part of a different, migratory group. Given different directions of travel in mid June (1995) and late July (1997), the second hypothesis is most probable. This view is also consistent with Schaller’s observation that “females migrate north in May and June, calve somewhere [in the north] and return south almost immediately,” as well as his assumption that the Tibetan antelope in Wild Yak Valley are (or were) a resident population (Schaller 1998).

A small but growing resident (non-migratory) population of Tibetan antelope is also reported in Suojia, to the east of the Golmud-Lhasa highway (reported by local pastoralists in July 1998 and March 1999). Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to observe the herd personally, and specific numbers have been difficult to obtain. Prior to the snowstorms of 1985, Tibetan antelope and other ungulates are reported to have been very abundant in the entire region. In particular, one local herder recalls seeing tens of thousands of Tibetan antelope in 1975 between the Tongtian (Yangtze) and Dangqu rivers, in western Suojia near the Golmud-Lhasa highway, supposedly one of the Tibetan antelope’s elusive birthing grounds.

Tibetan wild ass / Kiang (Equus kiang) (back to top)

“The kiang is the largest of the wild asses, a robust yet trim animal up to 142 cm high at the shoulder … and with an estimated body mass of 250-300 kg, with some stallions up to 350-400 kg … although, like in all equids, sexual dimorphism is slight. … The kiang’s head is large, the muzzle blunt, and nose convex. The mane is upright and relatively short. The coat is a rich chestnut color, darker brown in winter and a sleek reddish brown in late summer after the animal has shed its woolly pelage…. The legs and undersides, including the ventral part of the neck, are white, as are the insides of ears and end of the muzzle. A dark dorsal stripe extends from the mane to the end of the tail, which has a tuft of stringy black hairs. The tips of the ears and a narrow band along the margin of the hooves are also black” (Schaller 1998).

Like the Tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild ass also prefer the open plains. According to Miller and Schaller (1997b), they reach their greatest abundance on the alpine steppe (such as in parts of Maduo and Suojia) but become increasingly scarce where the desert steppe begins to predominate. Of the large mammals, the kiang dominates wildlife biomass (Schaller and Gu 1994). As seen in Table 2, kiang “roam singly and in small herds for much of the summer, usually with fewer than 25 animals,” but during the winter “herds congregate in areas with good grazing [and] up to 300 kiang may assemble … and remain … until they disperse the following spring” (Miller and Schaller 1997b). In March 1999, over 500 were observed in 4 or 5 herds in Wild Ass Valley (Jiongqu village) in Suojia. However, because they are believed to compete with livestock for forage, many pastoralists are not too sympathetic to their presence in such large numbers, particularly in proximity to their livestock grazing pastures.

Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata) (back to top)

“The Tibetan gazelle has a compact body and slender legs and stands about 60-65 cm high at the shoulder. Its coat is sandy brown to grayish brown, grayer in summer than in winter. The fronts of the legs are light gray, and the inside of the legs and the belly are white. The animal lacks conspicuous facial markings and a lateral stripe. The rump patch is white, large, and heart-shaped, and its hairs are erectile, often fanning out as the gazelle flees. A band, light rust in color, borders the rump patch, which surround the short (8-9 cm) black-tipped tail…” (Schaller 1998).

Like the Tibetan antelope (chiru) and Tibetan wild ass (kiang), Tibetan gazelle also prefer the open plains. However, unlike the antelope, and to a lesser degree the wild ass, Tibetan gazelles are quite sedentary. Overall, their status has remained unchanged in most areas (Miller and Schaller 1997b, Harris et al. 1999) and they are the most commonly seen ungulate on the Tibetan plateau today. Tibetan gazelle usually are found in small to moderate numbers (and occasionally in large numbers) in some localities, but may be absent from many other areas. The presence of Tibetan gazelle appears to depend largely on local availability of their preferred forbs (Miller and Schaller 1997b). In this study, Tibetan gazelle were observed in a variety of places, almost always in small herds, but sometimes many herds were seen in a small geographic area (e.g., in Maduo).

Tibetan wild yak (Bos grunniens) (back to top)

“The wild yak is massive with sturdy legs and a conspicuous hump that rises abruptly behind the neck and tapers down to a level back. It is black with rust-brown overtones except for gray toward the tip of the muzzle. A long fringe of hair on the lower neck, chest, sides, and thighs drapes the lower parts like a skirt. In bulls this fringe may be 70 cm long and hang almost to the ground…. The tail terminates in a large, bushy tuft which … waves back and forth when, during aggressive encounters, the animal raises its tail vertically. … A dense layer of wool grows beneath the coarse guard hairs. … The thick coat and the low number of sweat glands … are efficient adaptations for conserving heat. Even on brisk days, yaks often stand knee-deep in ice-cold streams, apparently to cool off; they survive poorly in warm climates or below 3200 m on the Tibetan plateau. … The shoulder height of wild adult bulls is about 175-203 cm and of cows 137-156 cm; the total length of bulls is 358-381 cm and that of the one cow measured is 305 cm. … Wild yak horns are gray to black. Those of bulls sweep out and forward then back and often somewhat inward, whereas those of cows curve more sharply up and farther back.” (Schaller 1998)

In Wild Yak Valley, the Tibetan wild yak population appears to be essentially unchanged in recent years, with about 1,200 to 1,300 animals in both 1990-92 and 1997 (Harris et al. 1999). In most of their range, however, they have been hunted heavily and their overall population has been largely decimated. According to Miller and Schaller (1997b), “wild yaks … now exist mainly where pastoralists are either sparse or absent. … Wild yaks prefer to be on or near hills which they ascend to about 5,300m at the limit of vegetation. … Herds roam widely, making seasonal shifts for 60km or more.” The eastern limit of their range is said to lie near the Golmud-Lhasa highway, which runs through the transition zone between the alpine meadow in the east and the alpine steppe in the west (Su 1993, Schaller and Liu 1996). However, a small population is reported to occur around 100 km east of the highway, north of the Tongtianhe (Yangtze River) in Suojia, but this has not yet been confirmed. In the past, Tibetan wild yak were exceptionally abundant in Suojia and elsewhere on the Tibetan plateau (see, e.g., Rockhill 1894, Hedin 1903; cited in Schaller 1998), but today they are very rare almost everywhere.

Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) (back to top)

“Adult males are robust and handsome, about 80-91 cm tall at the shoulder, with a sleek grayish brown to slate blue pelage. The ventral surface of the neck, the chest, and the front of the legs are dark gray to black. … A conspicuous black flank stripe separates the upper parts from the white belly. The rump patch, the inside and the back of the legs, and the tip of muzzle are also white…. The hair is short without beard, ruff, or other hairy appendage. The smooth horns sweep up and out and then curve back before curling up at the tip. They are massive and relatively short, the record being 84 cm…. Females resemble males except that they have gray, instead of black, markings and their short horns, 10-20 cm long, project first up and then out…. Although seemingly marked in a striking pattern, blue sheep are remarkably inconspicuous, blending so well into their environment that they are often difficult to spot” (Schaller 1998).

Overall, blue sheep are common in suitable habitat. As they are the main prey of snow leopard (Oli 1996), as well as an important source of food for wolves and other predators, blue sheep prefer rough terrain and cliffs that provide them with adequate escape routes. Herds are reported often to consist of 50 or more animals (Miller and Schaller 1997b). Several large herds of at least 95, 32 and 131 animals were observed in April 1997 in the high mountains of Gouli, in the Kunlun Mountains of southeast Dulan. This area already is recognized for its high density of snow leopard (and blue sheep), and it is here that the Xining Zoo trapped many of its animals in the past (Yang 1994). I also have observed herds of blue sheep in Geermu (in the central Kunlun Mountains), in Suojia, and in the Luoxu Nature Reserve in northwest Sichuan.

Argali (Ovis ammon) (back to top)

“Adult rams have a shoulder height of about 118 cm and they weigh an average of 105 kg…. [They have a] distinctive white-ruffed winter coat…. In their summer coat, rams are a light grayish brown, sometimes darker on the neck, with an indistinct margin between white rump patch and adjoining body hair, and there is a faint side stripe separating the upper parts from the white belly. The horns of rams are heavily ribbed and average 39.4 cm … in circumference at the base in animals 6-7 years and older…. Horn length in sheep increases steadily with age, the oldest animals usually having the longest horns as measured along the outside curve. … Female Tibetan argalis resemble males in summer pelage and have light grayish brown upper parts, darker along the back, and white bellies and rumps. They stand 104-112 cm high at the shoulder and weigh an estimated 68 kg… a third less than adult rams” (Schaller 1998).

No argali were seen in this study, but they were reported specifically in Gouli, in Suojia, and in the Luoxu Nature Reserve (in Sichuan). Argali are very rare throughout their range.

White-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris) (back to top)

“White-lipped deer are large and robust. Adult stags stand about 120-140 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh 180-230 kg, whereas females are about 115 cm tall and weigh usually less than 180 kg…. The antlers are smooth and somewhat flattened…. The pelage is coarse and stiff and the hairs are hollow as in blue sheep, providing an insulating layer of warm air. The dark hairs have a light-colored band near the tipe, giving the animal a grizzled appearance. As their name implies, the deer have a white upper lip and tip of muzzle, and they also have white inside the ears, on chin and throat, and on the inside of the legs. The belly is cream to grayish white. The body is light buff or grayish brown to dark brown, pelage color varying somewhat with sex, season, and possibly locality. … The rump patch is rusty-colored and surrounds the tail” (Schaller 1998).

Several white-lipped deer were seen in the wild in Suojia. Many were seen, however, in the semi-wild deer farm near Zhiduo town, where their white-lipped deer antlers are harvested yearly for their velvet. The white-lipped deer is endemic to the Tibetan plateau, but it is now rare throughout most of its range.

Snow leopard (Uncia uncia) (back to top)

“Snow leopards inhabit some of the most remote and highest ranges on earth. Their luxuriant smoke-gray coats with black rosettes and their long, lush tails are evocative of snow and immense solitudes. Rare and elusive, the cat has become symbolic of the wildness and wilderness of central Asia’s mountains. … Raking their hindpaws, the cats make characteristic scrapes on the ground at mountain passes, the base of cliffs, the confluence of streams, by prominent boulders, and other conspicuous places” (Schaller 1998).

No snow leopard was seen in this study, but one fresh scrape was found in Gouli. Snow leopards also were reported to be very abundant in one remote mountain area of Suojia (in Muqu village). This large predator is considered as an “indicator species” because its presence depends on the ecological integrity of entire mountain ecosystems (Jackson and Hunter 1996). Overall, the snow leopard is extremely rare.

Tibetan brown bear (Ursos arctos) (back to top)

“The brown bears on the Tibetan plateau belong to the subspecies Ursus arctos pruinosus. … The bears on the plateau are medium-sized animals … with a shaggy coat and sometimes a conspicuous ruff. Their pelage color is distinctive though highly variable. Adults usually are dark brown to black except that the face is rust brown to tan and a white collar extends from the shoulder to the chest, becoming broader below. The ears are also black and at times so hairy that they seem tasseled. … Subadults are generally lighter colored than adults. Although the legs, face, and hump are dark, the rest of the coat may range from pale brown to such a light tan that the animals appear almost white at a distance. … The Tibetan brown bear is now rare on the steppes, where they mainly persist in or near mountainous terrain” (Schaller 1998).

Brown bear were reported in several areas of the province. They are said to be common in some parts of Dari (in Guoluo), and they also are reported to be present in Suojia. Although brown bear are now relatively rare, they were reportedly quite numerous in the past (Combe 1989).

Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) (back to top)

“The black-lipped [or plateau] pika is at times so abundant on the alpine meadows and steppes that it probably has the highest mammalian biomass in many areas and is a key link in the food chain for most predatory birds and mammals. … [It is] a typical chunky, tailless lagomorph [with] a brown to reddish tan coat with light gray undersides …. Colonies occur almost wherever the terrain is flat to gently sloping, well drained, and with a silty or sandy soil devoid of rocks. Pikas greatly favor alpine meadows [and] live in burrows, which they leave for several hours in daytime to forage” (Schaller 1998).

The plateau pika is probably the most abundant animal on the Tibetan plateau. Pika do not hibernate, and they are a keystone species of the alpine meadow (Smith and Foggin 1999). However, they are poisoned in vast areas of the plateau because they are believed to compete with livestock for forage, and a lot of native wildlife is impacted negatively by this activity. Smith and Foggin (1999) provide a detailed account of the plateau pika and its significant contributions to the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the Tibetan plateau.

Historic Wildlife Abundances (back to top)

It is clear from the above account that wildlife is not very abundant in most parts of the province. Only in remote areas are large mammals seen with any frequency, a situation very different from only several decades ago. Even in 1947, Migot (1957) found grasslands with “a tremendous lot of wildlife in this region, which is in effect a sort of sanctuary undisturbed by man. Herds of yaks, wild asses, and gazelles were all quite easy to get near.” Late last century, Rockhill (1891) saw many hillsides that were “literally black with yak, they could be seen by the thousands.” Indeed, virtually every explorer that has ever traveled in the region, at least up until the 1950s, saw huge and thriving wildlife populations (e.g., Prejevalsky 1876, Deasy 1901, Hedin 1903, Rawling 1905, Kozloff 1910, Ward 1913, Huc and Gabet 1928, Schäfer 1933, Ekvall 1968, Combe 1989, Norbu 1997).

One of the most famous adventurer-explorers of his time, the Russian Nikolay Przewalski found the wildlife of the Tibetan plateau to be exceptionally abundant. According to Rayfield (1976), the people that he met during his travels knew the Tibetan plateau as guresu gadzyr, the country of wild animals. Rayfield (1976) recounts Przewalski’s travels last century in (present-day) Qinghai:

“Despite [the plateau’s] desolation it was well-watered in summer and kulans [Tibetan wild ass] and yaks searched for patches of grass, while wolves and foxes pursued the herbivores in search of carrion. … The country of wild beasts was a game-hunter’s dream. Herds of yak and kulan, wild sheep [argali] and bharals [blue sheep], orongo gazelles [Tibetan antelope] and ada antelopes [Tibetan gazelle] roamed the plateau, unused to, and hardly afraid of, man. The orongo stags were herding the hinds: in their rut they paid little attention to the hunter.” (pp. 75-76)

“Somehow they reached the Kuku Shili [Kekexili] range where marshes gave the camels food, and also provided cover for a new race of bear. Przhevalsky watched a wolf pack follow a bear, seizing marmots as the bear scraped them from their burrows [and] there were hundreds of wild yak that had not yet migrated downstream.” (p. 135)

“The narrow strip of level ground between the lake [Koko Nor, or Qinghai Lake] and the mountains [Qinghai Nanshan] is excellent steppe-land … where those ever-recurring denizens of the steppe, the … ogotona [pika, Ochotona], larks, and sand-grouse were to be seen. Here too were new kinds of birds and mammalia, peculiar to the deserts of Tibet. The most remarkable of the birds was [the Long-billed Calandra Lark, which is] larger than a starling; inhabiting the tufted marshy grass, an exquisite songster. Two kinds of Montifringilla [Snowfinches] and a Podoces humilis [Hume’s Ground Jay] were occupying the burrows of the alpine hare [plateau pika]. … Among birds of prey, vultures and lammergeiers daily visit its shores in search of food, and numerous buzzards, hawks, and eagles appear to winter here for the sake of feeding on the alpine hares [plateau pika] that are found so abundantly.

“The last-named animal … inhabits in extraordinary numbers the pasture land at the foot of the mountains. … Hundreds and thousands may be seen on a fine day disporting themselves in the open, or basking in the sun near their holes; and although destroyed by eagles, buzzards, and hawks, wolves, foxes, and steppe-foxes [sand foxes], they multiply so quickly as to make up for all losses. Bears, wolves and badgers [also feasted on] marmots and mole-rats [zokors].

“The most remarkable animal of the steppes of Koko-nor [Qinghai Lake] is the wild ass or kulan, called djang [kiang] by the Tangutans (Equus kiang), in size and external appearance closely resembling the mule…. We saw them first on the upper Tatung-gol [Datong River, in north Gangcha] where the Kan-su mountains are unwooded, and the pasturage is good. The kulan ranges over Koko-nor, Tsaidam [Qaidam], and Northern Tibet, but it is found in the greatest numbers in the first-named country [where] larger herds of several hundred [were seen].” (pp. 144-147, 163)

“Once they were down in the rich, boggy salt-marsh – the Odon Tala, or ‘Starry Sea’ [near the source of the Yellow River, in present-day Maduo] – where springs bubbled up like stars through the bog, such countless herds of kulan [Tibetan wild ass], yak and antelope [Tibetan gazelle] appeared that Przhevalsky had to limit hunting and conserve ammunition.” (p. 165)

“For eighteen days Przhevalsky shot pheasants and went on bear battues. … Przhevalsky [Przewalski] stopped at a warm sulphurous spring, where he found his gerbil, Brachiones przewalskii, a few bears and huge herds of kulan [Tibetan wild ass]. … The Russian New Year of 1885 (13 January) was celebrated by shooting twenty-three orongo [Tibetan antelope].” (pp. 171-173)

“The characteristic animals belonging to the order of Mammalia, which are most numerous in the Tibetan deserts, are the wild yak (Peophagus grunniens), the white-breasted argali (Ovis poli?), the kuku-yaman (Ovis Nahoor), the antelopes called orongo and ata (Antilope Hodgsoni and A. picticauda), the kulan or wild ass (Equus Kiang), the grey wolf (Lupus Chanco). Besides which are the bear (Ursus sp.), the manul (Felis manul?), the fox (Canis vulpes), the steppe fox (Canis Corsac), the hare (Lepus tolai), the marmot (Arctomys sp.) and two kinds of lagomys.” (pp. 186-187) (See Appendix IV for the current common and scientific names of mammals).

It is evident from even this single account that wildlife was, until not very long ago, extremely abundant almost everywhere on the Tibetan plateau. Today, however, one must travel far and wide to see only a few animals. It is only in remote and sparsely populated regions of Qinghai, such as the Kunlun Mountains in Dulan, the vast open plains of Maduo, and the Kekexili region (e.g., in Suojia and along the Golmud-Lhasa highway) that a greater variety and more abundant wildlife populations can still be seen.

Main Threats to Qinghai’s Wildlife (back to top)

The main threats to wildlife have long included land conversion for agriculture, which has negatively impacted biodiversity in many parts of the Tibetan plateau through outright destruction of valuable alpine grassland (Qinghai People’s Government 1951, ‘Open up…’ 1956, Western Resources and Environment Research Center 1994, Becker 1996). Plowed land can take many years, even decades, to recover (Cincotta et al. 1991). In 1999, however, China finally corrected its national policy, and no more land on the high alpine grasslands will be converted for agricultural purposes. Considerable farmland will even be restored to its former state, including around 30 percent of the cultivated land in Qinghai (‘China to cut grain…’ 2000, ‘China to reduce … 2000, ‘NPC deputies…’ 2000, ‘Top advisors…’ 2000).

“Rodent control” also has been undertaken in many areas of Qinghai and across the entire Tibetan plateau. This activity, however, continues to receive official sanction despite the critical damage that results from the widespread poisoning of the plateau pika (Ochtona curzoniae; not a rodent, but a lagomorph), a keystone species of the Tibetan plateau grasslands. The plateau pika is a keystone species because it makes burrows that are the primary homes to a wide variety of small birds and lizards, creates microhabitat disturbance that results in an increase in plant species richness, serves as the principal prey for nearly all of the plateau’s predator species, and contributes positively to ecosystem-level dynamics (Smith and Foggin 1999). Although pikas are not being killed (poisoned) illegally, their demise nonetheless contradicts national policies that require that due consideration be given to local ecological conditions, and thus to promote sustainability. As a keystone species, removal of the plateau pika has multiple, negative, cascading effects on many other animals, on plant species richness, and on basic ecosystem functions (Smith and Foggin 1999).

Illegal hunting (poaching) continues to pose one of the most serious threats to the mammals of the plateau (Miller and Schaller 1997, Schaller 1998). Although national and international law forbids hunting of most rare and endangered species, many animals are still targeted each year by Chinese poachers and foreign trophy-hunters. Hunted species include Tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild yak, snow leopard, blue sheep, argali, Tibetan gazelle, musk deer, brown bear, and possibly even Koslow’s pika (Schaller et al. 1988, Harris 1991, Hoffmann 1991, Zhang 1991, Aukatsang 1994, Jackson and Hunter 1996, Schaller and Liu 1996, Schaller 1998, World Wide Fund for Nature 1998, Bay 1999, Harris et al. 1999). Local pastoralists also kill snow leopard and wolves to protect their livestock (Miller and Jackson 1994, Miller and Schaller 1997), and red foxes are heavily hunted for their fur (personal observation).

Illegal gold mining has increased in the past decade, particularly with a gold rush to the remote Kekexili area in southwest Qinghai (Aukatsang 1994). Local cash-strapped governments have also considered gold mining as a potential source of revenue (Shi 1997). However, in both cases, it is usually non-local people who are hired to find gold (personal observations), and poaching, whether for meat or for sale, is very closely tied with mining activities in the province (Bay 1999, McCarthy and Florcruz 1999).

“Building the grassland,” a basic maxim for pastoral development in China, also affects wildlife populations. Modernization in Qinghai is still predominantly oriented toward infrastructure development rather than toward the creation, organization, and dissemination of information (e.g., extension services, training, education). Current grassland construction activities include large-scale grassland fencing schemes, “rodent control,” and the Four-in-one Scheme for poverty alleviation (building houses for pastoralists, building livestock shelters, fencing the grassland, and planting winter forage crops). Almost all of these activities promote an overall intensification of resource use, with concomitant reductions in the overall flexibility, mobility, and seasonal character of traditional Tibetan pastoral practices. Grasslands have not fared well under such conditions in Mongolia (Sheehy 1993, 1996) and Inner Mongolia (Hu et al. 1992, Li et al. 1993, Williams 1996), nor even in Qinghai’s grasslands (Qinghai Census Bureau 1994, Western Resources and Environment Research Center 1994, Lang et al. 1997, Chen et al. 1998). The ecological integrity of alpine grasslands is therefore at stake, and biodiversity is rapidly being diminished.

Increasing human and livestock populations have likewise affected wildlife in Qinghai. Livestock may compete for forage with wildlife, including Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan wild ass, and overstocking contributes to serious land degradation (Qinghai Census Bureau 1994, Lang et al. 1997, Chen et al. 1998). The simple presence of people and livestock also can create serious physical disturbance for wildlife, and wild animals are now present in large numbers only in the most remote, mountainous areas of the province (Schaller 1998, Harris et al. 1999, personal observations).

Finally, according to Miehe (1992, 1994) and others (e.g., Western Resources and Environment Research Center 1994, Miller 1995), climate change is particularly important to explain some of the observed changes in grassland species compositions. In particular, a general dessication (drying) trend has been noted which may be the main factor causing the transformation of alpine sedge (Cyperaceae) meadow vegetation into alpine steppe vegetation in some parts of the Tibetan plateau (Cincotta et al. 1991, Miller and Schaller 1997). Dessication also is an important factor contributing to land degradation through the formation of severely degraded land known as “black sands” (Edmonds 1994, Mao et al. 1997, Lang et al. 1997, Chen et al. 1998). Wildlife species dependent on specific grassland types or on sufficient forage availability thus may be affected by local and regional climatic changes.

Summary (back to top)

We now know where wildlife tends to be most common in Qinghai, and also how sparse it is compared to even the fairly recent past. We also are aware of many of the threats to wildlife in Qinghai today. We have thus met the first half of Miller’s (1996) definition of conservation biology, that is, “to investigate human impacts on biodiversity.” We also have pointed toward several possible directions of change that would better protect overall biodiversity (e.g., to promote more flexible and mobile forms of rangeland management). However, simple theoretical statements and recommendations by outsiders rarely provide clear, straightforward guidance for local decision-makers who must face real-world complexity, many competing demands, tortuous power plays, and sometimes even political intrigue! We therefore have yet to meet the second half of Miller’s (1996) basic definition of conservation biology, that is, we have yet to develop practical approaches to preserving biodiversity and ecological integrity. In other words, How can good concepts and theories be transformed into concrete and feasible, real-world solutions?

The final chapter of this dissertation is therefore a case study that examines in practice how conservation is currently being promoted in one very specific context in the source area of the Yangtze River. The case study focuses in particular on the work of a local grassroots organization and the local government, who jointly have focused their work on integrating environment and development in the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan plateau. A report on a field trip made to Suojia (the case study area) in July 1998 is provided in Appendix V, including a general description of the area and an overview of the local history (environmental and cultural history) as well as some glimpses into the early stages in the development of the local non-governmental organization.

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Table of Contents

Chapter Seven

New Wildlife Sightings in Qinghai Province

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Wildlife Observations, 1995-1999

7.2.1. Tibetan antelope / Chiru (Pantholops hodgsoni)

7.2.2. Tibetan wild ass / Kiang (Equus kiang)

7.2.3. Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata)

7.2.4. Tibetan wild yak (Bos grunniens)

7.2.5. Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur)