The area around Qilian Mountain is one of the areas with a good ecological environment and extremely rich wildlife resources in China, with many national key protected animals such as musk, snow leopard, white-lipped deer, lynx, etc.
It covers a wide range of ecosystem types, including forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, etc., providing a home for wildlife with different habitat preferences.
Qilian Mountain National Park is an important ecological function area in China, one of the 32 priority areas for biodiversity conservation in China, with 69 species of mammals and 206 species of birds recorded.
A villager in Chumayuan Village, Menyuan County, Qinghai Province, recently took a picture with his mobile phone while driving through the Menyuan area of Qilian Mountain National Park, in which a large beast similar to a goat stood on a cliff, vigilantly staring at people passing by, condescending to look at people, and seeing people coming to take pictures and not running, which really had some courage.
After the identification of wildlife conservation experts, the wild animal photographed by the villagers is actually a "Chinese impala", also known as "gray impala", which looks like a goat from a distance.
This discovery is the first time that people have found the Chinese impala in the southern foothills of the Qilian Mountains, which is of great significance for the future national research on the relevant biology of this species.
Looks like goats, both male and female have sharp horns
The Chinese impala genus Bovine-subfamily Impala species, in a sense, is a "sheep". The appearance of the Chinese impala is very similar to that of a goat, with a pair of pointed horns on its small head.
Unlike most deer-like males who have horns and females who have no horns, the Chinese impala, both male and female, have conspicuous pointed horns on their heads, but the males have longer horns.
The Chinese impala is a medium-sized ungulate, weighing 20-35 kg as an adult, between antelope and goat, its physique is strong, its limbs are long and thick, and it has a strong ability to move even on rocky rocks in the mountains or between cliffs and cliffs.
The coat of the Chinese impala is mainly dark brown, brownish yellow or gray, with black needle hairs on it, dark lines on the back, white spots under the neck, and a lighter color at the ends of the limbs, which is obviously different from the color of the body.
The Chinese impala has a pair of large ears, pointed and long, and has long hairs on it, which is a major feature of it. Of course, the easiest way to distinguish the Chinese impala is to look at the white hair under its neck, which is a very conspicuous sign.
If from a distance, it looks like a goat animal, and there are obvious white spots on the black body and the lower neck, then it can basically be considered to be the Chinese impala.
It has a wide range and is a second-class protected animal
The Chinese impala is a second-class protected animal in China, and its name has a certain confusing nature. Judging from the name "Chinese Impala", it looks like a specialty of our country.
In fact, the distribution range of chinese impala is wide, not only in the central and southwest of China, but also in Southeast Asia, India and Myanmar, and is not a unique species in China.
Another of its names, the Siberian impala, also mistook it for antelope living in Siberia, but its distribution range does not actually include Siberia, which is even more inaccurate than other names.
The Chinese impala is a typical forest-dwelling mammal, but it can adapt to a variety of terrain environments, has strong viability, and is distributed from the northern temperate to the subtropics.
They prefer to live in steep and rocky mountains at high altitudes, in order to avoid natural predators such as snow leopards, Chinese impala has a strong vigilance, in the process of foraging will often ascend to look, once found that the situation is not right, immediately flee.
In the video taken by the villagers, the Chinese impala is watching from the cliff and seeing that the human has no further action, so it is not scared away.
As a ungulate with strong climbing ability, the Chinese impala can also walk and fly in the bare rocky terrain.
When he was young, he liked to live in groups, and when he was old, he lived alone
In general, the survival habits of animals can be divided into social and solitary, although the boundaries between the two are quite blurred, but if they are the same animal, most of them remain in the same state throughout their lives.
But the Chinese impala is not, and they live differently in different ages. At a young age, the Chinese impala prefers to gather together to form small groups to live together, and the members are generally around 12.
In old age, they are more inclined to live alone. The Chinese impala mainly feeds on grass, foliage, nuts, fruits and other plant foods, and has a strong feeding ability.
Each season, the main food eaten by the Chinese impala will also be different, and in general, since spring and summer are the seasons when plants grow, their recipes will be more extensive in this season.
The Chinese impala is a more alert animal, often haunted by dense forests or steep cliffs, and likes to look at high places because it can quickly detect predators.
Usually, their courage is relatively small, but once forced into a desperate situation by natural enemies, the Chinese impala dares to resist, and the sharp horns on its head are the best defensive weapons, even if it is a strong predator such as a snow leopard, it is also necessary to be afraid of three points.
Young Chinese impalas move in groups and can take turns to be on guard when foraging, so it is easier to spot natural enemies, while older Chinese impalas are more likely to be attacked by predators.
The reproductive ability of the Chinese impala is average, the gestation period is about 7 months, one litter generally gives birth to 1 litter, and in rare cases, twins will appear.
The lifespan of the wild Chinese impala is generally less than 15 years, so there are only a few offspring that a Chinese impala can produce in a lifetime.