SPECIES STORIES - Wildlife Conservation in China: Preserving the Habitat of China's Wild West - page 119

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S PECIES S TORIES
In this chapter we finally get our boots muddy by digging into the conservation status of
particular species in China's west. There isn't room to focus on all the species that might
be investigated, nor is my intent to be exhaustive. Rather, I have selected eight species (or
species groups) exemplifying themes in wildlife conservation that cut across taxonomic
boundaries and recur frequently. I have minimized biological details about each animal,
because those are available in the technical literature and have already been summarized
admirably by George Schaller. 1 Rather, I focus on the conservation issue for which each
species, unique as it is, provides an emblem. Each species should be seen as a proxy for
larger issues rather than as an isolated case.
Musk deer are affected by that most particularly Chinese of conservation issues, the
demand for body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine. Przewalski's gazelles have
been relegated to a small fraction of their original geographic range because “eastern”
China has progressively moved westward, replacing native habitats with human-dominated
ones. Argali are little used in traditional medicine but are valued highly for their beautiful
horns. That value has not, as of yet, been mobilized to protect critical habitats, and this
species is one that appears all but intolerant of much human presence. The chiru turns the
conventional wisdom regarding supply and demand of wild products on its head. Whereas
tigers, bears, and many other species that live outside China are subject to killing to satisfy
the material demands of Chinese, the chiru is a Chinese endemic that is threatened by
foreign demand. Pikas and zokors are small mammals whose status, depending on one's
viewpoint, is either that of a pest, damaging to the economic livelihoods of local people,
or a sentinel, warning us of ecological damage inflicted in the rush toward economic
development. In either case, the two are positioned squarely within the area of contest
between conservation and development. Western China is home to two endangered large
wild ungulates that are ancestors to fabulously successful domestic species: the wild
yak and the wild camel. Whether these wide-ranging herbivores can persist or will ulti-
mately be completely replaced by their domestic descendents remains an open question.
Large carnivores are difficult for people to live with in any circumstance, and it might
be surprising to learn that China still has so many potentially dangerous species with big
teeth and sharp claws: wolves, dholes, and brown bears. Finally, there are also species in
China's west that appear to be thriving, probably because they are not in high demand for
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