Yarkand deer | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Cervidae |
Genus: | Cervus |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | C. h. yarkandensis |
Trinomial name | |
Cervus hanglu yarkandensis Blanford, 1892 |
The Yarkand deer (Cervus hanglu yarkandensis), also known as the Tarim deer or Lop Nor stag, is a subspecies of the Central Asian red deer that is native to the province of Xinjiang, China. It is similar in ecology to the related Bactrian deer (C. h. bactrianus) in occupying lowland riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. Both populations are isolated from one another by the Tian Shan Mountains and probably form a primordial subgroup of the Central Asian red deer. [1]
This deer is light rufous in color with a large light-colored patch, including the tail. Its antlers usually have five tines with a terminal fork pointing forward. The fifth tine is usually larger than the fourth and is inclined inward.
The Yarkand deer lives in the Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe ecoregion of the Tarim, Kaidu, and Qiemo river basins in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region (East Turkestan). They are dependent on the lowland riparian corridors for food and shelter. They do not migrate, but may disperse into adjacent desert areas at night or at times of cooler temperatures. The deer population in the Tarim basin declined from over 10,000 in the 1950s to fewer than 3,000 in the 1990s. [2]
Yarkand deer are preyed on by the Himalayan wolf. [3]
The sika deer, also known as the Northernspotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north, it is an uncommon species that has been extirpated in most areas of its native range, except in Japan, where it is overabundant and present in very large numbers.
The Tarim River, known in Sanskrit as the Śītā, is an endorheic river in Xinjiang, China. It is the principal river of the Tarim Basin, a desert region of Central Asia between the Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountains. The river historically terminated at Lop Nur, but today reaches no further than Taitema Lake before drying out.
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about 888,000 km2 (343,000 sq mi) and one of the largest basins in Northwest China. Located in China's Xinjiang region, it is sometimes used synonymously to refer to the southern half of the province, that is, Southern Xinjiang or Nanjiang, as opposed to the northern half of the province known as Dzungaria or Beijiang. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern boundary is the Kunlun Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The Taklamakan Desert dominates much of the basin. The historical Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin is Altishahr, which means 'six cities' in Uyghur. The region was also called Little Bukhara or Little Bukharia.
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of western Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa; being the only living species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source.
The Ili River is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
The sambar is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.
The Caspian tiger was a Panthera tigris tigris population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Middle Ages, it was also present in southern Russia. It inhabited sparse forests and riverine corridors in this region until the 1970s. This population was regarded as a distinct subspecies and assessed as extinct in 2003.
There are various kinds of Xinjiang coins produced throughout the history of Xinjiang using the styles of contemporary Chinese cash coins as well as Persian and Islamic coinages. As not many records exist from the ancient monarchies of Xinjiang the study of its coinage has determined when which rules reigned and the state of the economy based on metallurgical analyses.
The Yarkand River is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. It originates in the Siachen Muztagh in a part of the Karakoram range and flows into the Tarim River or Neinejoung River, with which it is sometimes identified. However, in modern times, the Yarkand river drains into the Midstream Reservoir and exhausts its supply without reaching the Tarim river. The Yarkand River is approximately 1,332.25 km (827.82 mi) in length, with an average discharge of 210 m3/s (7,400 cu ft/s).
The Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. The ecoregion includes deciduous riparian forests and steppes sustained by the region's rivers in an otherwise arid region.
The Asiatic wildcat, also known as the Asian steppe wildcat and the Indian desert cat, is an African wildcat subspecies that occurs from the eastern Caspian Sea north to Kazakhstan, into western India, western China and southern Mongolia. There is no information on current status or population numbers across the Asiatic wildcat's range as a whole, but populations are thought to be declining.
Cervus is a genus of deer that primarily are native to Eurasia, although one species occurs in northern Africa and another in North America. In addition to the species presently placed in this genus, it has included a whole range of other species now commonly placed in other genera. Additionally, the species-level taxonomy is in a state of flux.
The Kashmir stag, also called hangul, is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir and surrounding areas. It is found in dense riverine forests in the valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmir, it is found primarily in the Dachigam National Park and in Tral Wildlife Sanctuary where it receives protection, and elsewhere it is more at risk. In the 1940s, the population was between 3000 and 5000 individuals, but since then habitat destruction, over-grazing by domestic livestock and poaching have reduced population dramatically. Its population is now grown marginally to 289 in 2023 from 197 in 2004. It is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the only surviving Asiatic sub-species of the Red deer family.
The Bactrian deer, also called the Bukhara deer, Bokhara deer, or Bactrian wapiti, is a lowland subspecies of Central Asian red deer native to Central Asia. It is similar in ecology to the related Yarkand deer in that it occupies riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. The subspecies are separated from one another by the Tian Shan Mountains and probably form a primordial subgroup of the red deer.
The Tibetan red deer also known as shou, is a subspecies of elk/wapiti native to the southern Tibetan highlands and Bhutan. Once believed to be near-extinct, its population has increased to over 8,300, the majority of which live in a 120,000-hectare nature reserve established in 1993 in Riwoqê County, Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Some have been kept at the beginning of the 20th century in London, and in a small zoo south of Lhasa.
The Central Asian red deer, also known as the Tarim red deer, is a deer species native to Central Asia, where it used to be widely distributed, but is scattered today with small population units in several countries. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2017. It was first described in the mid-19th century.
The Eurasian Steppe, also called the Great Steppe or The Steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia and Manchuria, with one major exclave, the Pannonian steppe, located mostly in Hungary.
The Yarkand hare is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It has soft, straight, sandy brown dorsal pelage which has grayish-black stripes, and completely white ventral pelage. Endemic to China, the Yarkand hare is restricted to the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, China. It is mainly nocturnal, and forages on grass and crops. The female produces two or three litters annually, each consisting of two to five young. It is rated as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species and by the Red List of China's Vertebrates. However, Chinese geneticists have stated the species is "endangered" due to limited habitat and its fragmentation, and over-hunting and poaching.
The wildlife of Pakistan comprises a diverse flora and fauna in a wide range of habitats from sea level to high elevation areas in the mountains, including 195 mammal, 668 bird species and more than 5000 species of Invertebrates. This diverse composition of the country's fauna is associated with its location in the transitional zone between two major zoogeographical regions, the Palearctic, and the Oriental. The northern regions of Pakistan, which include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan include portions of two biodiversity hotspot, Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.
The Barandabhar forest covers an area of 87.9 km2 and bisects the Chitwan District in east and west Chitwan. Barandabhar, a 29 km long forest patch, is bisected by the Mahendra Highway, resulting in a 56.9 km2 area in the buffer zone of RCNP and 31 km2 is under the district forest office.