Pseudois schaeferi Haltenorth 1963
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Bovidae
Pseudois
Pseudois schaeferi

description: 177.
Dwarf Blue Sheep
Pseudois schaeferi
French: Bharal nain / German: Zwergblauschaf / Spanish: Cabra azul enana
Other common names: Dwarf Bharal, Sichuan Blue Sheep
Taxonomy. Pseudois schaefer: Haltenorth, 1963,
China (upper Yangtze Gorge, Drupalong, south of Batang).
The Dwarf Blue Sheep is smaller in body size, horn and skull measurements than the Greater Blue Sheep (P. nayaur) but not significantly different genetically. The two species are separated by a forest zone that extends 1000 m between the lowerelevation habitat inhabited by Dwarf Blue Sheep and the higher-elevation habitat of the Greater Blue Sheep. It is speculated that Dwarf Blue Sheep may be an isolated population in the process of speciation or its small body size is due to lower-quality habitat. Monotypic.
Distribution. SC China (Upper Yangtze River Gorge in Batang County of W Sichuan) and adjacent area of Mukang County in Xizang.
Descriptive notes. Few measurements available. Shoulder height 70-80 cm; weight 28— 35 kg (males) and c. 25 kg (females). Horn length 28-55 cm (males), horn basal girth 14-23 cm (males). Horns are more upturned and lack the inward curve characteristic of the horns of Greater Blue Sheep. Winter coat is drab, with a silvery sheen; dark markings develop only in older males. Diploid chromosome numberis 54.
Habitat. Presently occurs at an elevation of 2700-2900 m on rocky, steep terrain with 70-80° slopes. Annual precipitation is about 650 mm with most occurring in summer. The vegetation consists principally of low shrubs (Berberis spp., Rosa spp., Cotoneaster spp., Cladrastris spp., Ephedra spp., Rhododendron spp.). Principal mammalian predators are Gray Wolves (Canis lupus), Dholes (Cuon alpinus), and Leopards (Panthera pardus), but predation has not been quantified.
Food and Feeding. Probably feed principally on graminoids in summer and browse in winter.
Breeding. Based on local informants, mating occurs in November—December and offspring are born in May-June.
Activity patterns. Feeding peaks in summer occur at 06:00-09:00 h, 10:00-11:00 h, and 16:00-20:00 h, and a bedding peak at 11:00-15:00 h. Adult males spend more time feeding and standing than other individuals, juveniles spend more time moving and in other activities, and females spend more time bedding. The population is characterized as timid and wary.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Movement studies are lacking. Group sizes are 2-15 with an average herd size of 6-2. Of 142 Dwarf Blue Sheep observed, 21 (14-8%) were males, 31 (21-8%) were females, and eleven (7-7%) were young; 79 (55:6%) were of undetermined gender. The sex ratio was 67-7 males: 100 females and the ratio of young to combined adult and yearling females was 35-5-100: 100 in winter. In another study, population density was 0-71 ind/km?, and group sizes were 2-10 animals. Of those whose sex and age were determined, 17 (31%) were young, 39 (29-8%) were subadults, and 75 (57-2%) were adults, and the adult sex ratio was 70-4 males:100 females.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The entire population consists of about 200 individuals, with 140 Dwarf Blue Sheep in Batang County. It has undergone a population decline estimated to be greater than 50% in the last 21 years. It has a small distribution, principally between the villages of Suwalong and Zhubalong, 40 km south-west of the town of Batang, and concentrated in an area of 200-295 km?*The area is subjected to extensive livestock grazing and farming. Its small distribution renders it especially vulnerable to continued habitat degradation by unmanaged domestic livestock grazing and disturbance by pastoralists. Poaching also occurs and game laws are not enforced even within a protected area. Despite the small population and declining status,it is not formally on the national list of protected species of China. Creation of a community-based conservation hunting program that economically benefits the rural population and caters to foreign hunters is a possibility, but only if a detailed management plan is developed that provides for trained personnel to monitor and enforce hunting regulations and a multispecies grazing program that provides for the sustainable use of rangelands.
Bibliography. Allen (1940), Bunch, Wang Shiqguan, Zhang Yaping et al. (2000), Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1966), Feng Jiang et al. (2001), Groves (1978), Groves & Grubb (2011), Grubb (2005), Harris (2007, 2008), Liu Yande et al. (2007), Long et al. (2009), MacKinnon (2008), Schaller (1998), Wang Sung et al. (1997), Wang Xiaoming & Hoffmann (1987), Wang Xiaoming et al. (2000), Wang Yu & Wang Xiaoming (2003), Zeng Bo et al. (2008).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, pp. 444-779 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 673, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484