Hunting wiping out Mongolia's mammals

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Hunting wiping out Mongolia's mammals

AP

Tuesday Dec 12

 

Illegal hunting and trade is pushing some Mongolian animals like the snow

leopard to the brink of extinction, conservationists warn.

 

The saiga antelope, wild camel, and Gobi bear are also highly threatened, along

with other mammals and 11 species of fish, according to the first comprehensive

Red List for Mongolian mammals.

 

There are fewer than 50 Gobi bears, only about 460 wild camels and an estimated

1,000 snow leopard left in the landlocked country between Russia and China where

half the 2.8 million people are nomadic herders.

 

" We knew there were some major declines but this confirms across the board,

especially for the large mammals, that there have been unprecedented declines

due to international trade in species, " said Dr Jonathan Baillie, of the

Zoological Society of London (ZSL) which compiled the report.

 

Most of the population declines date back to the early 1990s when the nation

shifted to a free market economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. At the same

time, there was a breakdown in mechanisms that regulated trade and protected

wildlife.

 

The red deer has declined in the last 18 years by 92 per cent and the number of

marmots, which are large rodents, has dropped by more than 75 per cent in the

past 12 months because of hunting.

 

" The steppe is basically being cleared of a lot of these mammals, " Baillie

added.

 

Traditionally, Mongolia has been a refuge for central Asian animals that have

been hunted out of other areas. They managed to maintain their numbers in

Mongolia because of the low population density. But because of increases in

trade, species that found a refuge in Mongolia are quickly losing ground.

 

" Imagine the Serengeti just being cleared and no one paying attention. Basically

that is what is happening in Mongolia, " Baillie added, referring to the national

park in Tanzania.

 

The trouble has been exacerbated by an increase in the availability of vehicles

and cars. Trophy hunting is a particularly big threat to Mongolia's large

mammals such as antelope, deer and gazelle, according to the report launched at

the ZSL.

 

Baillie said legislation is needed to protect the nations' endangered mammals,

as well as support to ensure it is enforced. Unlike other areas where loss of

habitat has led to declines in species, the greatest threat in Mongolia is

hunting.

 

" It is a unique situation where you have such a clear threat and it is happening

so quickly over such a short period of time, " he added.

 

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