Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-bvgqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T19:51:38.479Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Status of wild Bactrian camels and other large ungulates in south-western Mongolia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Richard P. Reading ,
Henry Mix ,
Badamjaviin Lhagvasuren  and
Evan S. Blumer
Henry Mix
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation International, Reinhardstrasse 10, D-10117 Berlin, Germany.
Badamjaviin Lhagvasuren
Affiliation:
Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, Ulaanbaatar-51 Mongolia.
Evan S. Blumer
Affiliation:
The Wilds, 14000 International Rd, Cumberland, OH 43732, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Wild Bactrian camels Camelus bactrianus ferus are endangered. Surveys over the past several decades suggest a marked decline in camel numbers and reproductive success. However, most surveys were made using methods that precluded rigorous population estimation. The need for more accurate surveys resulted in an aerial survey of known and suspected camel habitat in Mongolia during March 1997. We estimated density, group density and population size of large mammals in south-western Mongolia using the interactive computer program DISTANCE. We recorded sufficient data for population modelling of wild Bactrian camels, goitred gazelles Gazella subgutturosa, Asian wild asses Equus hemionus and argali sheep Ovis ammon. We observed 277 camels in 27 groups (mean group size = 10.26 ± 2.38 SE camels/group). Modelling yielded a population estimate of 1985 ± 802 SE camels in the survey area. Population modelling for other ungulates yielded estimates of 6046 ± 1398 SE goitred gazelles, 1674 ± 506 SE Asian wild asses and 909 ± 303 SE argalis. Discrepancies between population estimates of ungulates in our survey and previous surveys are discussed with regard to methods used and robustness of results obtained. We also discuss conservation implications for wild Bactrian camels and other Mongolian ungulates.

Keywords

ArgaliAsian wild assBactrian camelsCamelus bactrianusgoitred gazelleMongolia.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , July 1999 , pp. 247 - 255
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1999

References

Anon. (1988) Great Gobi National Park Management Plan. 2 Vols. United Nations Environment Programme, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.Google Scholar
Bannikov, A. (1976) The wild camels of the Gobi. Wildlife, 18, 398–403.Google Scholar
Buckland, S. T., Anderson, D. R., Burnham, K. P. & Laake, J. L. (1993) Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Chapman and Hall, London.Google Scholar
Burnham, K. P., Anderson, D. R. & Laake, J. L. (1980) Estimation of density from line transect sampling of biological populations. Wildlife Monographs, 72, 1–202.Google Scholar
Burnham, K. P., Anderson, D. R. & Laake, J. L. (1985) Efficiency and bias in strip and line transect sampling. Journal of Wildlife Management, 49, 1012–1018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dash, Y., Szaniawski, A., Child, G. & Hunkeler, P. (1977) Observations on some large mammals of the Transaltai, Djungarian, and Shargin Gobi, Mongolia. Terre et Vie, 31, 587–596.Google Scholar
Feh, C., Munkhtuya, B., Enkhbold, S., Avirmed, A. & Sukhbaatar, T. (in press) Status, distribution, ecology and social structure of the Gobi khulan (Equus hemionus subspp) in Mongolia. Biological Conservation.Google Scholar
Hare, J. (1997) The wild Bactrian camel Camelus bactrianus ferus in China: the need for urgent action. Oryx, 31, 45–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, J. (1998) The Lost Camels of Tartary: A Quest into Forbidden China. Little, Brown and Company, London.Google Scholar
IUCN (1996) 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Laake, J. L., Buckland, S. T., Anderson, D. R. & Burnham, K. P. (1993) Distance User's Guide V 2.0. Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.Google Scholar
Lhagvasuren, B., Dulamtseren, S. & Amgalan (in press) Status and distribution of antelope species in Mongolia. In Antelopes: Global Survey and Action Plan. Part 4. Eurasia. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Mallon, D. P., Dulamtseren, S., Bold, A., Reading, R. P. & Amgalanbaatar, S. (1997) Mongolia. In Wild Sheep and Goats and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae (ed. Shackleton, D. M.), pp. 193–201. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Mix, H., Reading, R. P. & Lhagvasuren, B. (1995) A systematic census of various large mammals in Eastern and Southern Mongolia. In Proceedings from the Conference on Asian Ecosystems and Their Protection, August 1995. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (in Russian).Google Scholar
Nowak, R. M. (1991) Walker's Mammals of the World, vol. II, 5th edn.The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.Google Scholar
Nowak, R. (1993) Court upholds controls on imports of argali trophies. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin, 18(4), 11–12.Google Scholar
Reading, R. P., Amgalanbaatar, S., Mix, H. & Lhagvasuren, B. (1997) Argali Ovis ammon surveys in Mongolia's South Gobi. Oryx, 31, 285–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reading, R. P., Amgalanbaatar, S. & Lhagvasuren, L. (in press) Biological assessment of Three Beauties of the Gobi National Conservation Park, Mongolia. Biodiversity and Conservation.Google Scholar
Schaller, G. B. (1998) Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.Google Scholar
Shackleton, D. (ed.) (1997) Wild Sheep and Goats and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Shiirevdamba, Ts., Shagdarsuren, O., Erdenjav, G., Amgalan, Ts. & Tsetsegma, Ts. (eds) (1997) Mongolian Red Book. Ministry for Nature and the Environment of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (in Mongolian, with English summaries).Google Scholar
Sukhbat, Kh. & Gruzdev, V. B. (1986) The mountain sheep argali in the Mongolian People's Republic. In Natural Conditions and Biological Resources of the Mongolian People's Republic, pp. 195. Moscow (in Russian).Google Scholar
Tolgat, R. (1995) Results of wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus Prz.) surveys and their biological meaning. In Proceedings from a Conference on the Biology and Nature of Great Gobi Strict Protected Area, 12 June 1995 (ed. Badamkhand, J.), pp. 87–90. Ministry for Nature and the Environment, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (in Mongolian).Google Scholar
Tolgat, R. & Schaller, G. (1992) Status and distribution of wild Bactrian camels. Biological Conservation, 62, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNDP (1994) Mongolia Biodiversity Project—Implementation Phase Document. UNDP, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.Google Scholar
UNDP (1997) Human Development Report: Mongolia 1997. Government of Mongolia and United Nations Development Programme, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.Google Scholar
Wang, X. & Schaller, G. B. (1996) Status of large mammals in western Inner Mongolia, China. journal of East China Normal University (Natural Science), 12, 93–104.Google Scholar
Wingard, J. R. (1996) Mongolian Environmental Law. Reference Copy for Biodiversity Project Staff. Mongolia Biodiversity Project, Ministry for Nature and the Environment, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.Google Scholar
Yongzu, Z. (1991) Mammalian zoogeography and conservation of the endangered species in arid areas of China. In Mammals of the Palaearctic Desert: Status and Trends in the Saharan-Gobin Region (eds McNeely, J. A. and Neronov, V. M.), pp. 269–284. The Russian Academy of Sciences and The Russian Committee for the UNESCO Programme on Man and the Biosphere, Moscow.Google Scholar
Zhirnov, L. V. & Ilyinsky, V. O. (1986) The Great Gobi Reserve—a Refuge for Rare Animals of the Central Asian Deserts. USSR/UNEP Project, Programme for Publication and Informational Support. Centre for International Projects, GKNT, Moscow.Google Scholar