| Long-tailed Goral[1] | |
|---|---|
| Long-tailed Goral at Saint Louis Zoo | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Genus: | Naemorhedus |
| Species: | N. caudatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Naemorhedus caudatus Milne-Edwards, 1867 |
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The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is a species of wild goat found in the mountains of eastern and northern Asia, including Russia, China, and Korea.[1] A population of this species exists in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, near the tracks of the Donghae Bukbu Line.[3] The species is classified as endangered in South Korea, with an estimated population less than 250. It has been designated South Korean natural monument 217. In 2003, the species was reported as being present in Arunachal Pradesh, in northeast India.[4]
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The long-tailed goral also known as the Chinese gray goral was and is still sparsely found in the wild throughout China, Russia, and Korea in the Himalayas[5]. . The main population in the wild today is found in Russia where there is a population of about 600 which is in decline and other places the populations are below 200. There are also many of these animals in zoos throughout the world. (e.g., The Wilds of Ohio, Saint Louis Zoo, Woodlands Park Zoo, Seattle WA, L.A. Zoo, Minnesota Zoo)
In 1982 there were 18 gorals that died in captivity in the Indian Zoo some things that caused these deaths were taeniasis parasitic disease, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis.
Prefer high elevations with rocky, dry, steep, cliff ridden mountains[6] They make their homes near sparsely vegetated cliffs with small crevices where they can hide from any danger.These areas are also sometimes covered by evergreen and deciduous forests, and occasionally found on expossed grassy ridges feeding [7].
The goral is a group oriented species and lives in groups from 2-12 individuals [8]. The groups consist of females, kids, and younger males; older males tend to be solitary.
The animals tend to stay within a 100 acre range; this can be different for males in rut[9]. Males in rut will travel long distances over rough terrain to find as many females to fertilize as possible.
The long-tailed goral appears very similar to goats. Males can weigh 62-93lbs and females 49-77lbs lengths can vary anywhere from 32-51 inches and shoulder height from 20-31 inches[10]. They are of the antelope family so they are considered ungulates. The tips of their horns curve back and have distinct rings around them. There are openings between their hooves. The face of a goral is flat like that of a Serow, the nose and eyes are very close together. It has brown fur with shades of gray, the outer fur is long. The bushy tail is usually dark brown or black in color. Females usually are lighter in shade than that of males; the horns are also smaller than male’s horns.
Gorals are considered to be browsers because they eat a wide variety of grasses, woody material, and nuts and fruits. In the summer months they tend to stick to the many grasses that grow on the mountains. Throughout the winter they eat woody twigs and leaves of trees and shrubs; they've also been known to eat some nuts such as acorns and a few fruits[11].
The goral's average life span in the wild is 10-15 years, although a captive goral was aged at 17 years[12]. The females will go into a 30-40 hour estrus cycle once per year where they will hopefully be fertilized by a male[13]. Then they have a 215 day gestation period to at the end they will give birth to one individual, and very rarely twins[14]. There have also been some successful breeding within the zoo systems; San Diego Zoo has been very successful.[15]
There long-tailed goral is protected under Appendix I of CITES, and there are numerous reserves where the goral resides, but not as the main focus of the reserve; however they are protected when they are on these properties[16] In China the long-tailed goral is a Class II species meaning it is protected, this however is poorly enforced because of the animals uses in traditional medicine[17] The only thing that has been done on this particular species level is to bring these animals into captivity within the zoo system which should cement it from going totally extinct.[18] The factors that are killing this animal in the wild are poaching which is increasing, these animals are poached for their fur, meat, and horns and they are also poached because some of their parts are used in traditional medicine. They have some natural predators also that are effecting the population but at a minimum due to these animals all being scarce as well the predators include lynx, snow leopards, tigers, and wolves in some regions. The agriculture business has not been kind to the goral as well their habitat is being destroyed rapidly by the slash and burn technique and their natural habitats are being farmed and used for livestock. This brings me to the next thing effecting the Goral is habitat degradation and competition from the domestic livestock. The domestic livestock are grazing off all the grasses leaving nothing for the native goral to eat. Another thing that is affecting the goral is that they are losing space in zoos; this is because they are not a very "sexy" animal. The gorals are being replaced with more attractive animals such as tigers, lions, and bears this is strictly a monetary issue because the more attractive the animals at the zoo are the more guests that will come spend money. Zoos are limited to space just like everything else is and if they aren’t getting any bigger and more animals are being brought into captivity what would you choose a goral or a Tiger. The answer is obviously a tiger because it will produce more revenue for the facility.
First thing that needs to be done is to eliminate poaching, this will be very tough to do since the majority of the poaching is being done for food to feed the poachers families. The people that live amongst these animals need to benefit by having this endangered species close to them, maybe by increasing eco-tourism to this part of the world, which would bring money to the people poaching so they would not have to poach the Goral's. Another thing that is wrong is that the habitat is being destroyed for agricultural reasons; this is just the people who use the land trying to make it in this world. There is a limited amount of space and resources anywhere you go so we need to encourage the farmers to not use the entire habitat that the goral inhibits and maybe create a sharing system between the domestic livestock and the native goral. If there was a way to bring some money to the region all these problems could be eliminated but due to the goral not being a very popular species amongst world travelers and big money groups this is going to be a long tough process. The population in zoo's are healthy and that a good thing but we need a way to reintroduce this species and that will not take place unless there is a place to put this animal where it will not be in danger of being killed. So there must be some reserves established in order to even think about a reintroduction program. So some reserves must be made and be protected as well if the goral has any shot of making it in the wild. The goral has been on the Endangered Species list for some time now and nothing has really changed in its conservation status so as long as the population continues to decline then the long-tailed goral's outlook is not a healthy one.