Population status and migration trends of Marco Polo argali (Ovis ammon polii) in Pakistan
-
Jibran Haider
,
Maqsood Anwer
Abstract
Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) occurring in the rugged mountainous landscapes of Central and South Asia, are difficult to survey and conserve due to their straggling habits in remote and inhospitable habitats. The paper presents population estimates and migration trends of Marco Polo sheep in Khunjerab, Pakistan, over 20 years (1992–2012), determined through direct count method. During this period a total of 1069 sheep visited Pakistan, with mean annual herd size of 76.35 (SD=±40.87). Sex ratio in the population skewed towards females, having male:female ratio of 0.69:1 with 43 lambs to 100 ewes. Annual population density of the immigrant populations oscillated between 0.42 and 2.13 animals/km2 (SD=±0.53). The visitation showed drastic decline over 20 years, possibly due to fencing at the Sino-Pakistan border and dietary competition with wild herbivores. Fewer lambs in summer populations is another point of concern, probably as result of predation of young cohort by avian and mammalian predators. Removing obstructions on migratory routes and reducing dietary competition with sympatric herbivores are suggested for viability of argali populations in Pakistan.
Acknowledgements
Gilgit–Baltistan Forest and Wildlife Department and Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) Pakistan generously provided logistic and financial support for our research. We thank Dr. Gari Khan for preparing a map of the study area. KNP Directorate and field staff are especially thanked for providing the data of annual census and their help during the field surveys. Two anonymous referees improved our final draft with useful comments and feedback.
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©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ecology
- High altitude ungulate communities in southwest China
- The effect of urban and rural habitats on activity budgets of the endangered Northern Plains sacred langur, Semnopithecus entellus (Dufresne, 1797) in Jessore, Bangladesh
- Hyladelphys kalinowskii in French Guiana: new observations and first notes on its nesting biology
- Small mammal communities on beaches and lakeside farmland in the Poyang Lake region after the Three-Gorges Project
- Environmental determinants of activity variation of an overlooked burrowing rodent: the Indian crested porcupine
- Advances on the group composition, mating system, roosting and flight behaviour of the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis)
- Bats in a Cerrado landscape of Northern Brazil: species occurrence, influence of environmental heterogeneity and seasonality, and eight new records for the State of Tocantins
- Population status and migration trends of Marco Polo argali (Ovis ammon polii) in Pakistan
- Direct evidence of scavenging behaviour in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)
- Preliminary observations on home ranges and natural history of Scotinomys teguina in Costa Rica
- Evolutionary biology
- A new abnormality record in bats: a teratological condition or skull trauma due to tooth avulsion in Noctilio leporinus?
- Dental anomalies in Caluromys (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae, Caluromyinae) and a reassessment of malformations in New World marsupials (Didelphimorphia, Microbiotheria and Paucituberculata)
- A short review and worldwide list of wild albino rodents with the first report of albinism in Coendou rufescens (Rodentia: Erethizontidae)
- Conservation
- New records of Saimiri collinsi Osgood, 1916 (Cebidae, Primates), with comments on habitat use and conservation
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ecology
- High altitude ungulate communities in southwest China
- The effect of urban and rural habitats on activity budgets of the endangered Northern Plains sacred langur, Semnopithecus entellus (Dufresne, 1797) in Jessore, Bangladesh
- Hyladelphys kalinowskii in French Guiana: new observations and first notes on its nesting biology
- Small mammal communities on beaches and lakeside farmland in the Poyang Lake region after the Three-Gorges Project
- Environmental determinants of activity variation of an overlooked burrowing rodent: the Indian crested porcupine
- Advances on the group composition, mating system, roosting and flight behaviour of the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis)
- Bats in a Cerrado landscape of Northern Brazil: species occurrence, influence of environmental heterogeneity and seasonality, and eight new records for the State of Tocantins
- Population status and migration trends of Marco Polo argali (Ovis ammon polii) in Pakistan
- Direct evidence of scavenging behaviour in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)
- Preliminary observations on home ranges and natural history of Scotinomys teguina in Costa Rica
- Evolutionary biology
- A new abnormality record in bats: a teratological condition or skull trauma due to tooth avulsion in Noctilio leporinus?
- Dental anomalies in Caluromys (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae, Caluromyinae) and a reassessment of malformations in New World marsupials (Didelphimorphia, Microbiotheria and Paucituberculata)
- A short review and worldwide list of wild albino rodents with the first report of albinism in Coendou rufescens (Rodentia: Erethizontidae)
- Conservation
- New records of Saimiri collinsi Osgood, 1916 (Cebidae, Primates), with comments on habitat use and conservation
