Figure 1 This figure provides the general area of occupation by the Japanese serow. (Source: <lhttp://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Nemorhaedus_crispus.html>)

General Information

Physical Description

The Japanese serow, Capricornis crispus, is a small bovid. There are four color variations in the serow. The color variations are black, black with a dorsal white spot, dark brown, and slightly off white. The typical Japanese serow weighs between 30 and 45kgs There is very little sexual dimoprphism between the males and females. Adult males and females greater than 3.5 years of age on average weigh 35 and 38 kgs respectively. The typical heights for the male and female serow greater than 3.5 years of age are 73 and 74 centimeters respectively, to the shoulder of the serow. Horns sizes also little dimorphism between sexes, with adult male horns averaging 31.82 mm in diameter at the base, and females horns averaging 30.61mm in diameter at the base(Jass et al. 2004). This lack of sexual dimorphism suggests little presence of male aggression and competition. Which falls in line with the mating and social system (solitary) of the serow (Loison et al.1999). The average life expectancies for males and fa males at birth are (including infant fatalities) estimated at 5.3 and 4.8 years respectively (Jass et al. 2004).

Habitat and Diet

The serow inhabits the mountainous areas of Japan and Taiwan. The estimated total area occupied by the Japanese serow is 40,000 km². Figure 1 to the left provides the approximate area inhabited by serows. The serow prefers the rugged mountainous areas so caves can be used for resting. The ungulate is an herbivore and typically considered a browser. Sasa kurilensis, a northern growing bamboo plant, and Thuja standishii, a cypress plant native to Japan, are two of the most common plants in the serow's diet. The serow is primarily diurnal but also has nocturnal feeding periods. The serow's diet varies slightly from summer to winter. This is due to the heavy snowfall during the winters (Jass et al. 2004). Serows also go through a period of decreased food consumption in the winter, and this has even been noted in captive animals. This is thought to be an adaptive measure to the decreased food availability (Miura et al. 1986).

The Problem with the Serow

For decades the Japanese serow was on the verge of extinction. Though the serow does not have many predators, humans, through hunting and habitat dist ruction, pushed the population of the serow to levels that warranted listing the animal on the endangered species list. In an attempt to conserve the animal the serow was declared a "natural monument" in 1955. The efforts to conserve the animal have been successful. Some areas of Japan have seen as much as a 75% increase in the animal's population. However, with this population explosion problems have arisen. In Wakinosawa the population of 500 serows has done agricultural damages near $3,000 US in a single year. The local residents have tried searching for solutions within the limitations provided by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, which allows the hunting of up to 1,000 serows a year. The members of the Wakinosawa community installed over 30 miles of fencing in attempt to keep the serow out of the district. The winter weather thwarted these efforts, dumping roughly 2 meters of snow on the community, flattening the fences under its weight. Today, with limited solutions to the population problem, there are calls to increase the number of serows hunter per year. The introduction of an animal that would prey on the serow seems unlikely due to the possibility of adverse effects to the rest of the wildlife by introducing a non-native species. However, there are still several hopeful admirers of the serow who study the animal's behaviors, searching for a way for the nation's natural monument and the population of the nation to live in harmony (Kaufman, 1992).