Winter Daytime Activity Budgets of Asiatic Ibex Capra sibirica in Tomur National Nature Reserve of Xinjiang

Asiatic Ibex Capra sibirica, distributed only in the mountains of Central Asia, is a threatened species in China. Asiatic Ibex is classified as a Category Ⅰ Protected Wild Animal Species under the Wild Animal Protection Law in China, and listed as “Endangered” in the China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals. Some work about the Asiatic Ibex has been done in its southeastern distribution range in the northwestern Himalaya Mountains of India, but information about this species in China is still very limited.

The daytime activity budget plays a major role in determining an animal’s adaptations to seasonal and diurnal variations in environmental factors. Therefore, Prof. MA Ming and his research team studied the daytime activity budget of the Asiatic ibex in Tomur National Nature Reserve of Xinjiang, China. The results showed that both female and male Asiatic ibex spent most of their time feeding: females spent significantly more time feeding than males (Kruskal-Wallis text, x²=4.935, d.f.=1, P=0.026), while males spent significantly more time standing than females (Kruskal-Wallis text, x²=7.676, d.f.=1, P=0.006). In addition, the Asiatic Ibex showed two distinct activity peaks during the day when they were most activity: early morning from 7:00 to 8:30 and around sunset from 15:30 to 19:30. This research can provide useful information for the conservation and management of Asiatic Ibex.　　

The main finding has been published on Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 2012. 44(2): 389-392. The paper can be downloaded from http://zsp.com.pk/pdf44/389-392%20_13_%20PJZ-646-11%20revised%20proof.pdf.