Global Ecology and Conservation (Sep 2022)
Current status and future challenges for khulan (Equus hemionus) conservation in China
Abstract
Understanding the changes in population size, distribution and threats, is essential for assessing the status of threatened species. Northern China is believed to be an important stronghold for the Near Threatened Asiatic wild ass or khulan (Equus hemionus), but a recent assessment of the species has been lacking. To document change and updated the current status of khulan in China, we conducted a literature review targeting peer-reviewed and grey literature, newspaper articles, and summarized the results own field surveys and interviews from part of the species range. For a better understanding of the threats to khulan in China, we summarized the results of studies on environmental habitat factors and human disturbances for khulan, most of which are only available in Chinese language. Our results suggest that khulan in China have experienced a dramatic decline and fragmentation of their distribution range caused by excessive anthropogenic interferences. The remaining khulan range in China covers probably less than 40,000 km2 and is scattered over several nature reserves and the border areas in northern Xinjiang, northwestern Gansu, and western Inner Mongolia. We estimate the remaining population at about 4000 individuals, with ~80% found in Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang. The occurrences along the border with Mongolia are small and dependent on cross-border movements, which are currently severely hindered by border fences. Over the past 15 years, Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate National Nature Reserve was exposed to various human pressures and experienced dramatic population fluctuation in the khulan population size. Key factors which negatively influenced khulan were habitat loss, fragmentation, and disturbance due to mining exploration and infrastructure development. No systematic monitoring of khulan is done in the rest of the khulan range, but whereas illegal hunting seems no longer a serious threat, infrastructure development and land use changes (including increasing livestock numbers) are happening throughout the remaining range of khulan in China. Hence there is an urgent need to develop a national khulan conservation strategy and initiate cross-border cooperation with Mongolia to safeguard the long-term survival of the species in the Gobi region.
