Wei zi Xue Bao da quan

In recent years, stray Tibetan mastiffs, leopards and snow leopards, which were not close at first, have been frequently linked together because of a series of events. Tibetan mastiff is a species on the plateau, which has a certain intersection with snow leopard. In the past, herdsmen raised Tibetan mastiffs mainly to prevent wild animals from attacking sheep, but later, with the increase of stray Tibetan mastiffs on the plateau, this has become a new ecological problem.

Although leopard and snow leopard belong to the same cat family, one is a creature under the forest ecosystem and the other is a creature under the plateau ecosystem. There is no necessary connection between the two, but later, with the global climate change, the forest line moved, making the range of activities of leopard and snow leopard cross.

From left: leopard, snow leopard, Tibetan mastiff.

On March 20 19, leopard and snow leopard appeared at the same time in the Three Rivers source area. Earlier, in February, 20 16, 16, the infrared camera set up on Gongga Mountain in Sichuan also took pictures of leopard and snow leopard passing by in a ravine, both of which were sending us a message.

In view of this phenomenon, many people worry that the bigger and stronger the leopard is, it will have a serious impact on the life of the snow leopard, and even threaten its survival, even more than the stray Tibetan mastiff. So is this really the case? I hold the opposite view.

Leopard and Tibetan mastiff appear in the same place.

The strong have plummeted! The leopard touches the territory of the snow leopard.

Historically, leopards were widely distributed in China, even surpassing tigers, mainly because of their strong adaptability. It can live well in open areas with few trees or dense forests, so in the big environment, the leopard's habitat has always overlapped with the snow leopard.

For example, in the 1980s, when scientists in China investigated the living conditions of giant pandas, they found traces of snow leopards, and these areas were also one of the habitats of snow leopards.

leopard

Why has the leopard not been observed in the territory of the snow leopard for a long time, but only in recent years? In fact, the answer to this question can be found in the differences between the two micro-habitats. Before talking about the leopard, let's talk about how the snow leopard and the giant panda get along.

Snow leopards and giant pandas are distributed in large areas west of Minjiang River and east of Dadu River in Sichuan. Although the panda's main food is bamboo, there is no competition for food resources with the snow leopard. Both sides are beasts. Once they meet, they may have a fight.

The truth is that there is no record that the giant panda attacked the snow leopard, or that the snow leopard preyed on the giant panda. After careful study, we will find that although the habitats of snow leopard and giant panda overlap in a large horizontal area, there is no intersection between the vertical and vertical distribution of snow leopard and giant panda, that is, the differences between the two sides in micro-habitat.

Snow leopard is a plateau product, and its main activity area is basically near the snow line, while giant panda is a low-altitude species, and its favorite environment is mostly forest areas with trees and bamboos. The relationship between snow leopard and giant panda is like living in the same house? Bunk bed? Relationship, both sides will not involve each other's territory.

panda

In the past, leopards and snow leopards were able to live in peace, mainly because leopards are species in low-altitude forest ecosystems, and their range of activities is below the forest line, while snow leopards live above the forest line. However, with the change of global temperature and the movement of forest lines, the range of activities of leopards and snow leopards began to overlap, and the balance between them was broken.

It is a lie to say that the snow leopard's territory suddenly fell to the leopard, which had no effect at all. After all, based on the analysis of food habits, the competition between the two is fierce, and the leopard is stronger than the snow leopard in all aspects.

snow leopard

Tibetan mastiff fever? Fading, stray Tibetan mastiffs have sprung up everywhere.

In fact, there have always been stray Tibetan mastiffs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, only in? Tibetan mastiff economy? Before the collapse, there were not many stray Tibetan mastiffs here, just like other areas with stray dogs in the country, nothing unusual.

Since 2003, Tibetan mastiff has been sought after by a large number of people in China. Some people have seen the business opportunities, so a large number of Tibetan mastiff farms have sprung up in Qinghai-Tibet region, raising tens of thousands of Tibetan mastiffs, and some Tibetan mastiffs with good appearance even cost millions.

In fact, Tibetan mastiff, a fierce dog, is not suitable for most ordinary people to keep. After all, its appetite is huge and fierce, and ordinary families are unable to cope. So what is behind it? Tibetan mastiff fever? The decline is actually foreseeable.

Tibetan mastiff

After 20 10, people's enthusiasm for Tibetan mastiffs gradually faded, and a large number of Tibetan mastiffs accumulated in mastiff gardens could not be sold. Many mastiff farms that lack funds can't afford expensive daily feed and other expenses, so they can only choose to leave some Tibetan mastiffs with excellent appearance, and more mastiffs are abandoned in the wild.

At first, these stray Tibetan mastiffs just moved around the village, preying on some poultry and livestock or collecting garbage for a living. However, with the increasing wildness, more and more stray Tibetan mastiffs gather together and become a powerful predator army on the plateau.

Wandering Tibetan mastiff

Many people think that a domesticated dog, even if it returns to the wild, is just a stray dog and cannot return to the state of wild animals. Actually, it is not. We take Australian wild dogs as a good example. There are no dogs in Australia, but more than 5000 years ago, people from Southeast Asia came to Australia and brought their dogs.

At first, the number of dogs was very small. Under the control of human beings, they acted as guards of the family, while? Reserve rations? Later, with the increasing number of dogs, some dogs began to get out of human control and become stray dogs. In the long run, more and more stray dogs gather together, and after the wildness slowly recovers, they begin to compete with wild animals such as marsupials for territory. In the long history, they finally formed the wild dogs we see now.

Australian wild dogs are now distributed all over Australia, and they can be found in 80% of Australia. They are the only large carnivores on the Australian mainland today.

From the development of wild dogs in Australia, we can easily see that even domesticated domestic dogs can return to the state of wild animals after a long period of wild life, so the whole domestication process is reversible. Whether the stray Tibetan mastiff will become a wild animal again, no one can draw a conclusion, but one thing is certain: it is very possible!

Global warming, snow leopard? Internal and external troubles?

For snow leopards, it is pitiful enough that there are stray Tibetan mastiffs in front and leopards behind, but these can only be regarded as snow leopards? Foreign invasion? With the global temperature rising, there is another major? Internal worries? , is bothering the snow leopard.

Snow leopard is a product of plateau, which was widely distributed in Central Asia, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding radiation areas, and its habitat even extended to Northeast Asia. Just because snow leopards mostly live in the mountains, they are alert and inaccessible, so it was difficult for people to observe them in the past. In the past 20 years, the number of snow leopards has decreased by nearly 1/5, and their habitats have also been largely lost.

Snow leopard distribution map

In fact, leopards have been photographed many times in recent years. Invasion? The boundary of snow leopard is a signal, a warning that global temperature change has affected the survival of snow leopard. The main activity range of snow leopards is generally in the mountains around 3000-5000 meters above sea level, and the change of temperature is gradually changing this situation.

Rising temperature will change the rainfall, affect the distribution of vegetation and even rebuild the local ecosystem. In the past 20 years, the temperature on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has increased by 3 degrees Celsius. Perhaps people have no idea about this 3 degree Celsius, but it is quite sensitive to the whole ecosystem. At present, the discovery of green plants in some areas covered with snow and ice all year round on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau illustrates the problem. With the movement of forest lines, snow leopards will inevitably migrate to higher altitude mountainous areas.

In 20 16, some American scientists used computer technology to simulate the change trend of snow leopard habitat from the last ice age of the earth to 2070. It is found that the habitat range of snow leopard is also very different in different climate periods throughout the research stage, showing three trends of expansion, contraction and fragmentation in general.

In the future, when the climate changes, the habitat of snow leopard will be further reduced and become more fragmented. Among them, 65% of the snow leopard habitat will be seriously affected, and only the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will be relatively stable in various climatic periods, indicating that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the last refuge of snow leopards.

Leopard or stray Tibetan mastiff, who is the real threat of snow leopard?

Let's go back to the things between leopard, Tibetan mastiff and snow leopard. Leopard and stray Tibetan mastiff have been able to have a certain intersection with snow leopard, so who is the real threat of snow leopard?

Many people think that Tibetan mastiff is no match for snow leopard at all, and it is still circulating on the Internet? Snow leopard bravely fought 8 Tibetan mastiffs, causing 3 deaths and 5 injuries? Therefore, the leopard with high strength in all aspects can form a real threat to the snow leopard. However, this is not the case. In fact, compared with leopard, stray Tibetan mastiff can really affect snow leopard.

First of all, let's see why leopards can't pose a big threat to snow leopards in a short time or even in the future. The main reason is that the overlapping habitats of the two sides are located at the edge of the range of activities of both sides, which is doomed that there will not be too much intersection between them.

Most animals with territorial consciousness have limited territory. For example, the site required by South China Tiger is generally 70 square kilometers, while that required by Northeast Tiger is several hundred square kilometers. Some scholars have done a study in South Gobi Province of Mongolia. During 20/200814, they tracked the whereabouts of 16 snow leopards, and recorded a large number of activity tracks, thus concluding that the activity range of a male snow leopard is 200 square kilometers and that of a female snow leopard is 120 square kilometers.

snow leopard

Because the leopard mainly lives in the forest, the products under the forest ecosystem are richer than those on the plateau, so the leopard's range of activities will be much smaller than that of the snow leopard, which may be similar to that of the South China Tiger.

In the case of abundant prey, whether it is snow leopard or leopard, their range of activities will be significantly reduced. When the prey decreases, they will expand their range of activities, and more often, they will only touch the edge when marking the territory.

In recent ten years, thanks to China's efforts and achievements in environmental protection and animal protection, leopards and snow leopards are not short of wild ungulate prey. For example, wild boar is rampant in many places, so it will be around the territory. Fight? The probability is extremely low. In addition, both sides are big cat-level beasts, even if they meet when it is unnecessary, they just look at each other and walk away.

leopard

So will the leopard invade the territory of the snow leopard in order to expand its habitat? Or simply don't rely on it directly? Force output? Conquer snow leopards because of their similar eating habits. Do leopards gradually crowd out snow leopards in the competition for survival resources?

Obviously, this will not happen, the biggest reason comes from the leopard itself, because the bare rock belt in the mountain area is the home of the snow leopard, and the leopard can't survive in this landform.

Leopards are low-altitude species. It has no highly developed skills in distributing blood and regulating breathing, nor a huge nasal cavity that can gallop on the plateau with thin air, nor can it play a superb hunting skill on bare rocks like a snow leopard. So once the leopard sets foot in the core living area of Snow Leopard, it can't survive alone without the driving of Snow Leopard.

Tibetan mastiffs are different. Is it a plateau product that we often say? Local? In addition, dogs are extremely adaptable, and they can survive in various complex environments. The open land on the plateau is not suitable for the leopard, an animal that hunts in ambush, but it just allows Tibetan mastiffs to take advantage of group hunting.

From 2065438 to mid-2006, some scholars photographed stray mastiffs chasing green sheep, competing with snow leopards for food, and forcing back Tibetan bears in kurama. A Tibetan mastiff may not be an opponent of these beasts, but dogs are naturally gregarious and the social model is more stable than wolves. Under the leadership of the Mastiff, two can scare off snow leopards, and six are enough to repel brown bears.

Tibetan mastiffs forced the Tibetan brown bear to retreat.

Two fists are harder than four hands?

One thing is certain: Snow Leopard almost blew up the Tibetan mastiff, but the Tibetan mastiff has never been one-on-one with you. As soon as they rushed into the herd, a few or even dozens hit you. How should snow leopard face this situation?

There is a very popular picture on the Internet. In the picture, three Tibetan mastiffs drive the snow leopard to the edge of a cliff, and the snow leopard can only rely on the terrain advantage to barely defend itself. In this competition, it is obvious that Tibetan mastiffs have the upper hand. Dogs are highly socialized animals, and living in groups is their characteristic. With the gradual recovery of the wildness of stray Tibetan mastiffs, it is bound to form a wolf-like existence.

Mastiff fights with snow leopard.

I know there are some prejudices at present. Many people? Look down on? Tibetan mastiffs think they are just a kind of dog with huge hair, which can't be compared with wild animals. But if we really think so, it's all wet. Let's refer to Australian wild dogs. Although they are assisted by human beings, they have actually defeated the beast of the marsupial and become what they are today? Brother Australia? Yes

Compared with predators such as snow leopards, dogs have more diverse feeding habits and stronger adaptability, and are social animals. With the reproduction from generation to generation, stray mastiffs will only get bigger and bigger. Two fists are harder than four hands? Under the new situation, how does the snow leopard compete with the Tibetan mastiff?