serow
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What is a serow?
A serow is any of five species of goat-like mammals found across Asia, from Japan to India. Serows have stout, sharp horns that curve slightly backward, present in both males and females.
Mainland serows weigh 30–45 kg, stand about 110 cm tall at the shoulder, and are forest-dwelling, solitary, and territorial. They live at sea level up to 4,000 meters. Formosan serows are smaller (25–30 kg) with softer coats and are brown to reddish in color. Japanese serows weigh 36–38 kg and stand 75 cm tall. They have long, soft hair and vary in color from grizzled black to nearly white.
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Where do serows live?
Serows are goat-like mammals that live in diverse regions across eastern Asia including Japan. The mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) inhabits forests from the Malay Peninsula to the Himalayan mountain range at elevations up to 4,000 meters. The Burmese red serow (C. rubidus) can be found in China, Myanmar, and India. The Formosan serow (C. swinhoei) lives in Taiwan. The Japanese serow (C. crispus) is endemic to the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
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What do serows look like?
Serows are goat-like mammals found across Asia. They have stout, sharp horns that curve slightly backward, present in both males and females. The mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) has variable coloration, with a grizzled black head, neck, and long mane. Its fur may turn rusty red on the shoulders, flanks, and lower thighs, with varying amounts of white on the muzzle, throat, chest, and mane. It weighs about 30–45 kg (66–99 pounds) and stands about 110 cm (40 inches) tall at the shoulder.
The Formosan serow (C. swinhoei) is smaller, weighing 25–30 kg (55–66 pounds), with softer, woollier fur. Its body coloration ranges from brown to reddish, with yellowish markings on the chin, throat, and neck. The Japanese serow (36–38 kg [79–84 pounds] and about 75 cm [30 inches] at shoulder height) has long, soft hair that forms a ruff on the neck, and its coloration varies from grizzled black to nearly white.
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How do serows behave in the wild?
Serows are goat-like mammals found across Asia. Mainland serows dwell in forests, are typically alone, and mark their living spaces, not tolerating others of the same sex nearby. They are good climbers, sometimes using large tree trunks overhanging cliffs as safe resting sites. Because they are nocturnal and shy, gathering information about them is challenging.
The mainland and Burmese red serows are considered vulnerable due to being hunted for meat and medicinal purposes. The Formosan serow is smaller with softer fur and is commonly found in Taiwan. The Japanese serow was once endangered but has grown in numbers and is now stable.
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What are the main threats to serow populations and how are they protected?
Main threats to serow populations include hunting for meat and body parts used in local medicine. For example, serow head broth is believed to remedy arthritis. The mainland serow and the Burmese red serow are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
Where official protection is in place, it's often only nominal. However, the Japanese serow, once threatened by overhunting and habitat loss, increased in numbers after being designated a "special natural monument" in 1955, with poaching virtually eliminated and favorable habitats created.
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serow, (genus Capricornis), any of five species of goatlike mammals that range from Japan and Taiwan to western India, through eastern China, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayan region. Serows belong either to the tribe Rupicaprini (goat antelopes) or, according to another view, to their own tribe (Naemorhedini), of the subfamily Caprinae (family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla). There are five distinct species: the widespread mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), the Japanese serow (C. crispus), the Formosan serow (C. swinhoei), the Burmese red serow (C. rubidus), and the thar, or Himlayan serow (C. thar), though some taxonomies treat the thar as a subspecies of the mainland serow. Horns that are stout, sharp, and bent slightly backward are common to both sexes. The diploid number of chromosomes is 46 in the mainland serow, whereas it is 50 in the Formosan and Japanese species.
The coloration of the mainland serow is extremely variable. The head, neck, and long mane are grizzled black, and the fur may turn rusty red on the shoulders, flanks, and lower thighs. There is a varying amount of white on the muzzle, throat, chest, and mane. Weight is about 30–45 kg (66–99 pounds), and shoulder height is about 110 cm (40 inches). Both sexes are similar in size. Mainland serows are forest-dwelling, solitary, and territorial (i.e., each adult individual is intolerant of other individuals of the same sex within the area where it lives). They range from sea level in the Malay Peninsula to more than 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above sea level in the Himalayan mountain range. Well adapted to climbing, they sometimes use large tree trunks overhanging cliffs as safe resting sites. Their nocturnal elusive habits have made the collection of reliable information about their biology difficult. The mainland serow and the Burmese red serow—the latter of which lives in China, Myanmar, and India—are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Where official protection is accorded, it is usually on paper only, as the serow is hunted for meat and its body parts, which are used in local medicine. (For example, it is believed that the broth obtained by boiling a serow head is a remedy for arthritis.)
The Formosan serow, a much smaller species (25–30 kg [55–66 pounds]), is from Taiwan and has woollier and softer pelage than the mainland serow. Its body coloration is brown to reddish and is yellowish on the chin, throat, and neck. The Formosan serow occurs widely across the eastern part of the island of Taiwan, and thus the IUCN considers it a species of least concern.
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The Japanese serow (36–38 kg [79–84 pounds] and about 75 cm [30 inches] at shoulder height) is endemic to the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Once severely threatened because of overhunting and habitat loss, it was designated as a “special natural monument” in 1955. Since then the Japanese serow steadily increased in numbers (its population is now estimated at about 100,000) because of both the virtual elimination of poaching and the creation of favourable habitats such as monoculture conifer plantations. The IUCN classifies the Japanese serow as a species of least concern. Indeed, culling operations to limit serow numbers have been conducted every year since 1978. This species is covered with long soft hair, which forms a ruff on the neck. Its coloration varies from grizzled black to nearly white.