Bactrian deer

Last updated

Bactrian deer
Cervus.elaphus.bactrianus.male.jpg
Male (Stag)
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Cervinae
Genus: Cervus
Species:
Subspecies:
C. h. bactrianus
Trinomial name
Cervus hanglu bactrianus
Lydekker, 1900

The Bactrian deer (Cervus hanglu bactrianus), 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 (C. h. yarkandensis) 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.

Contents

Description

Bactrian deer Bukhara deer pair, extremely endangered Central Asian deer.jpg
Bactrian deer

This deer is usually ashy-gray with yellowish sheen, and a grayish white rump patch. It also has a slightly marked dorsal stripe and a white margin of the upper lip, lower lip, and chin. The antlers are light in color. Usually, four tines are present, with the absence of bez tines. The fourth tine is better developed than the third. Full-grown individuals, however, have five tines on each antler with a bend after the third tine that is characteristic of most Central Asian red deer subspecies.

In contrast to the Yarkand deer, which has a light sandy coat, the Bactrian deer has a darker, grayish-brown coat pattern with darker legs, head, and neck (most noticeable in males) that resembles the coat of the American elk (C. canadensis) or wapiti, which is why this subspecies is sometimes called the Bactrian wapiti. These deer do not have neck manes, but do have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer that may give the appearance of a neck mane. Female deer are slightly smaller than male deer, but the difference in size is not as pronounced as it is in the European red deer (C. elaphus) species.

Bactrian deer have, like Yarkand deer, short tails similar to the short tails of wapitis. The calves are generally born spotted much like European red deer calves, and most individuals lose their spots by adulthood, but adult Bactrian deer may have a few spots on the backs of their summer coats. This phenomenon has also been observed in summer coats of the distantly related Manchurian wapiti (C. c. xanthopygus) and subspecies of red deer.

Range

This deer is found in central Khorasan. It is found in Russian Turkestan (West Turkestan) and adjacent areas in northern Afghanistan to the west of the Tian Shan Mountains. Bactrian deer live in lowland riparian corridors of mixed deciduous (willow/poplar) vegetation surrounded by deserts. They do not migrate, but may disperse into adjacent desert areas at night or at times of cooler temperatures.

Population

Area of the Bukharian (Bactrian) deer population.png

By 1999, not more than 400 Bukhara deer remained. The population diminished most drastically in Tajikistan because of military conflicts. Since then, though, environmental organizations have taken steps to save the species.

Moreover, World Wide Fund for Nature implemented a reintroduction programme to bring Bukhara deer back to the places where they had once inhabited. For example, Bactrian deer have been reintroduced into the Zarafshan reserve in Uzbekistan; and in the Syrdarya–Turkestan State Regional Natural Park in the Turkistan Region of Kazakhstan. [2] In 2021, it was announced that the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve  [ ru; kk ] in Kazakhstan released 61 Burkhara deer in efforts to revive the species in the Balkhash Region. [3]

As a result of conservation efforts, the deer populations have increased. In 2006, about 1,000 deer lived in Central Asia. [4] The largest wild populations were found in 2009 in the Karatchingil Nature Reserve (320-350 animals) in the neighborhood of Altyn-Emel National Park in Kazakhstan; in the Badai Tugai Nature Reserve (374 animals) in Uzbekistan; and in the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve (>150 animals) in Tajikistan. The total wild population in 2011 is 1,430 and increasing. [5]

Conservation

Under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Bonn Convention, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation and Restoration of the Bukhara Deer was concluded and came into effect on 16 May 2002. [6] Acknowledging that the Bukhara deer faces threat of extinction as a result of human activities, the MoU provides an intergovernmental framework for governments, scientists and other groups to monitor and coordinate ongoing conservation efforts.

Predators

Aside from man, the Himalayan wolf [7] is probably the most dangerous of predators that most Bactrian deer encounter. Occasionally, the brown bear prey on these deer, as well. Other possible predators are dholes and snow leopards. Eurasian lynx and wild boars sometimes prey on the calves. In the past, they were also hunted by the now-extinct Caspian tiger.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyzylkum Desert</span> Desert in Central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya

The Kyzylkum Desert is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means Red Sand in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, in the land between the confluent rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, a region historically known as Transoxania. Today it is divided among Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It covers about 298,000 km2 (115,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sika deer</span> Species of deer native to much of East Asia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bactrian camel</span> Central Asian mammal, beast of burden

The Bactrian camel, also known as the Mongolian camel, domestic Bactrian camel or two-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dromedary. Its population of 2 million exists mainly in the domesticated form. Their name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red deer</span> Species of hoofed mammal

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caspian tiger</span> Extinct tiger population in Central and Western Asia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorold's deer</span> Species of mammal

Thorold's deer is a threatened species of deer found in grassland, shrubland, and forest at high altitudes in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. It is also known as the white-lipped deer for the white patches around its muzzle.

<i>Cervus</i> Genus of deer and elk

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish red deer</span> Subspecies of mammal

The Scottish red deer is a subspecies of red deer, which is native to Great Britain. Like the red deer of Ireland, it migrated from continental Europe sometime in the Stone Age. The Scottish red deer is farmed for meat, antlers and hides.

The Yarkand deer, also known as the Theenivs deer, 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan red deer</span> Subspecies of 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 Sichuan deer, also known as MacNeill's deer, is a subspecies of the Elk native to Western China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchurian wapiti</span> Subspecies of deer

The Manchurian wapiti is a subspecies of the wapiti native to East Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elk</span> Large antlered species of deer from North America and East Asia

The elk, or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The word "elk" originally referred to the European variety of the moose, Alces alces, but was transferred to Cervus canadensis by North American colonists. The name "wapiti" derives from a Shawnee and Cree word meaning "white rump" for the distinctive light fur in the rear region, just like the Bighorn Sheep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Asian red deer</span> Deer species

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altai wapiti</span> Subspecies of deer

The Altai wapiti, sometimes called the Altai elk, is a subspecies of Cervus canadensis found in the forest hills of southern Siberia, northwestern Mongolia, and northern Xinjiang province of China. It is different from the Tian Shan wapiti in being smaller and paler in color.

The Tian Shan wapiti or Tian Shan maral, is a subspecies of C. canadensis. It is also called the Tian Shan elk in North American English.

The Alashan wapiti is an Asian subspecies of wapiti, or elk as they are called in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukhara Deer Memorandum of Understanding</span> 2002 memorandum between Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation and Restoration of the Bukhara Deer is a Multilateral Environmental Memorandum of Understanding and was concluded in 2002 under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, in collaboration with the Central Asia Programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The MoU covers five range States. As of August 2012, four of them had signed the MoU, as well as a number of cooperating organizations. The MoU came into effect on 16 May 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Bactrian camel</span> Species of camel

The wild Bactrian camel is a critically endangered species of camel living in parts of northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related to the domestic Bactrian camel. Both are large, double-humped even-toed ungulates native to the steppes of central Asia. Until recently, wild Bactrian camels were thought to have descended from domesticated Bactrian camels that became feral after being released into the wild. However, genetic studies have established it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel about 1.1 million years ago.

References

  1. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  2. Bulatkulova, Saniya (6 February 2022). "Kazakhstan's Natural Beauty Seen Through Eyes of Zhambyl Photographer". The Astana Times.
  3. Asia, Aizada Arystanbek in Kazakhstan Region Profiles: A. Deep Dive Into the Heart of Central; July 2021, Society on 18 (18 July 2021). "Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve Conducts Largest Release of Bukhara Deers in Its History". The Astana Times. Retrieved 27 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. "Bukhara deer released in Uzbek nature reserve". wwf.panda.org. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  5. Large Herbivore Network: Bukhara Deer - Cervus elaphus bactrianus Archived 2011-09-16 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. "Species | CMS". Cms.int. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. S. Balajeid Lyngdoh; B. Habib; S. Shrotriya (2020). "Dietary spectrum in Himalayan wolves: comparative analysis of prey choice in conspecifics across high-elevation rangelands of Asia" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 310: 24–33. doi:10.1111/jzo.12724 . Retrieved 30 March 2022.