Naemorhedus caudatus

Geographic Range

Naemorhedus caudatus is found in the mountain ranges of eastern and northern Asia, including eastern Russia, northeastern China, and Korea. In Russia, it is found in the southern portions of the Sikhote-Alin and Bureya mountain ranges and along many of the major rivers, such as the Khor, Kafen, Chuken, and Sukpay. In China, it is mainly found in the northeast part of the country, especially the Xiao Hinggan Ling mountains, as well as the Changbaishan range which is close to the border shared with North Korea. In Korea it is thought to be found in the Hamgyong and Taebaek mountains, although distributions there are not well known.

• Biogeographic Regions
• palearctic palearctic
  • native native

Habitat

Chinese, or long-tailed gorals prefer steep, mountainous habitat and are usually found in rocky terrain with evergreen and deciduous forests. They are also sometimes found on exposed grassy ridges.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest forest
• mountains mountains

Physical Description

Chinese gorals are small goat relatives, ranging in size from 22 to 32 kg, and standing 55 to 80 cm at the shoulder. They are agile over the rocky crags and cliffs they inhabit. Other distinguishing characteristics include backward-curving, cylindrical, and sharply pointed horns and a brownish gray to bright red coat. There is minimal sexual dimorphism, although males being slightly larger than females.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

Reproduction

There is little information on mating systems in Chinese gorals. Males occupy marked territories of 22 to 25 hectares during the mating season. During rut, male red gorals ( Naemorhedus baileyi ), a closely related species, follow females closely in order to make naso-genital contact to determine whether the female has come into heat. Females that have not come into estrus will leave the area, while females that are in heat will stand for an approaching male and signal she is in estrus by raising her tail.

• Mating System
• polygynous polygynous

Male rut begins in late September to November and mating takes place in early winter. Estrus length is roughly 20 to 30 hours. Gestation length is roughly 180 days. On average, one kid is produced, but twins can also occur in rare situations. The young remain with their mother for about a year, although the time to weaning is not reported. Sexual maturity of the young is reached in the second to third year of age.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous

Specific behaviors pertaining to parental investment in Chinese gorals have not been well documented. Kids are typically born between April and May and stay with their mother for up to a year. During this time females tend to be less aggressive.

• Parental Investment
• precocial precocial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The average life span is approximately 15 years in the wild. Some captive gorals have lived to more than 17 years. In 1982 18 gorals died in an Indian zoo. Some of the causes for death of these captive gorals were taeniasis parasitic disease, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis.

Behavior

Chinese gorals usually travel in groups of 12 or fewer for most of the year. Females, kids, and subadults tend to travel in these groups, while older males are usually solitary. They tend to migrate at most 2 km in steep rocky regions. During the summer months Chinese gorals dwelling in Russia do not travel more than 1 km from their steep cliffs. During the winter, when they are not feeding, they can be found hiding under rocky overhangs and in caves. Chinese gorals avoid walking in deep snow, if the snow is deeper than 35 cm they leave belly marks in the snow as they go. Chinese gorals are diurnal or crepuscular, most active in the early morning and late evening, although they have been known to be active throughout the entire day during overcast weather.

• Key Behaviors
• diurnal diurnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary
• social social

Home Range

Chinese gorals have home ranges of about 40 hectares.

Communication and Perception

Chinese gorals communicate with one another in times of emergency with wheezing alarm sounds. They will stomp their foot in order to threaten a predator and warn other gorals in the area. During mating season, males attract females with a “zer… zer” or “ze-ze-ze” call. When females approach and are ready to encourage a male, they make a whistling noise. The naso-genital contact required during the mating season is a form of chemical communication.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• pheromones pheromones

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Chinese gorals are grazers and browsers, eating mostly grasses in the warm months and browsing on lichens and the leaves of evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs in the winter. When snow is on the ground, they use their muzzles to push snow to uncover grass stems and shrubs. They may also eat fruit and nuts. They typically feed during the morning and late evening.

• Primary Diet
• herbivore herbivore
  • folivore folivore

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit
• lichens

Predation

Predators of Chinese gorals include lynx, snow leopards, tigers, and wolves in some areas. Humans are also considered a predator as they hunt and poach them for their fur, meat, and parts that can be used in medicine. They do not flee until predators are almost upon them. When fleeing from a predator they bound uphill and away in irregular patterns consisting of long leaps, acting to confuse the predators.

Ecosystem Roles

Chinese gorals impact vegetation in their native ecosystems through grazing and browsing. They are also preyed on by lynx, leopards, wolves, tigers, and humans. Chinese gorals are also parasitized by Taeniasis tapeworms. These parasitic infections are reported in captive gorals, but may exist in the wild as well.

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Chinese gorals are hunted for meat and parts are used for traditional medicinal uses.

• Positive Impacts
• food food
• body parts are source of valuable material

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse effects of Chinese gorals on humans, although some human populations object to their potential competition with domestic livestock.

Conservation Status

Chinese gorals are considered vulnerable species because of the estimated 30% decrease in populations in recent years. Chinese goral populations are declining as a result of habitat destruction, poaching by humans for their meat and use in traditional medicine, and competition from agriculture and domestic livestock in the areas they inhabit.

Other Comments

Chinese gorals are known as long-tailed gorals.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Meredith Crane (author), Penn State University Park, Jami Willard (author), Penn State University Park, Jacqualine Grant (editor, instructor), Penn State University Park, Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

References

Cavendish Corp., M. 2001. Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World . Marshall Cavendish Corporation. Accessed April 23, 2009 at http://books.google.com/books?id=40jA0MOWejIC&pg=PA640&lpg=PA640&dq=predators+of+the+goral&source=bl&ots=ZcNBfjObPO&sig=fCNjpkkDME2whUwRSD8FqwA9iEg&hl=en&ei=QM_xSff5EMuMtgfEgsCyDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#PPA640,M1 .

Duckworth, J., J. MacKinnon, K. Tsytsulina. 2008. "IUCN 2008 Red List - Naemorhedus caudatus" (On-line). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed April 21, 2009 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/14295 .

Huffman, B. 2008. "Nemorhaedus baileyi Red goral" (On-line). Accessed April 24, 2009 at http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Nemorhaedus_baileyi.html .

Johnsingh, A. 2001. Wildlife and Protected Areas . Accessed April 24, 2009 at http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/ungulates/downloads/chapter12.pdf .

Mead, J. 1989. Nemorhaedus goral. The American Society of Mammologists , Issue 335: 1-5. Accessed April 22, 2009 at www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/0076-3519-335-01-0001.pdf .