Is Tibetan fox the exclusive natural enemy of plateau pika?

Maybe many people don't know about the hidden fox, but they have read about it more or less on the Internet. Because of its square face and slightly cute appearance, the Tibetan fox has a high popularity on the Internet and is often used by people to make various interesting expression packs.

Different from the cunning appearance of ordinary foxes, Tibetan foxes have a big face, thick and fluffy hair and a square overall appearance, which breaks our conventional impression of foxes. Although few of us humans see the square face beautifully, among carnivores, the square face of the Tibetan fox is the most professional, with more muscles attached to its cheeks and stronger bite force.

Tibetan fox

What is a hidden fox? Tibetan fox is a kind of fox that lives in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Ladakh Plateau. It may be very different from the fox in our traditional impression, but it is indeed a member of the canine family.

Among the 34 species of canines 14 genera, the animals that can be called foxes basically belong to the subfamily Canidae, and Tibetan foxes are one of them. Because almost all the wild Tibetan foxes in the world are distributed in a concentrated area with the same ecological conditions, there is no subspecies distribution in this habitat.

The appearance of Tibetan fox is very distinctive, with square head, big ears, short tail and sharp white, thick hair in the center of the back, brown or reddish brown, silver-gray hair on both sides of the body and white abdomen. Although the visual effect looks fat, the body shape of the Tibetan fox is actually similar to that of the red fox. Adult individuals weigh about 4-5.5 kilograms, and a few individuals can reach more than 6 kilograms.

As we all know, most canines live in groups, but the Tibetan fox is an exception. It likes to live alone, and basically only in the breeding season can it see foxes formed around its cubs.

Tibetan foxes like to live in alpine meadows, alpine grasslands and semi-arid areas, but they don't like contact with humans. Therefore, the habitat of Tibetan foxes is generally in high altitude areas where people are rarely seen. However, with the expansion of human living areas, Tibetan foxes can be seen occasionally in some low-altitude grazing areas.

The distribution density of Tibetan foxes is mainly influenced by prey richness and human activities, which conforms to the natural law. In fact, the distribution of most animals is similar. Take snow leopards and rock sheep as examples. It is not the number of snow leopards that determines the number of rock sheep, but the number of rock sheep that determines the number of snow leopards. Just like this, the number of Tibetan foxes is limited by the population density of plateau pika, its main food.

snow leopard

What is a plateau pika? What if it will? Pika? We all know what these two animals are when we take them apart, but when we combine them, it is a brand-new creature.

Plateau pika, as its name implies, is a kind of pika living on the plateau, also known as black-lipped pika. It is a small herbivorous mammal. Its main food is all kinds of pasture on the plateau, which has been considered as the culprit of grassland degradation for many years. They eat grass in droves, which not only causes losses to local animal husbandry, but also destroys the ecology of alpine grassland.

Plateau pika

Plateau pika looks a bit like a mouse in appearance, but it is much bigger than ordinary mice and seems to have no tail. Mature individuals weigh about 200 grams, with grayish brown body color, small and round ears, short forelimbs and long hind limbs, and claws on the toes, which are relatively developed. When he squats, his posture is like a small and fat rabbit.

Plateau pika is very common in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They have lived a family life all their lives and are good at digging holes. Many underground caves communicate with each other and eventually form a family nest. When the number of family members increases, its nest area will also increase.

What is a compliant predator? We all know what a predator is. Take goats, wolves and tigers as examples. In the same habitat, tigers prey on wolves, goats and wolves prey on goats. From the goat's point of view, wolves and tigers are carnivores, while sheep are prey. From the wolf's point of view, the tiger is a predator and the wolf becomes a prey.

So sometimes in different environments, the same creature may play multiple ecological roles, just like the wolf in the example. It can have two or more identities at the same time, which is closely related to the niche of the creature in the ecosystem.

Simple food chain

In fact, after defining the concept of predator, it is quite easy to understand the concept of obligate predator, which is also a relative concept. It can be simply thought that in the same ecological environment, one creature preys on another.

For example, in some areas of Finland, local voles account for about 90% of the prey that small weasels prey on, so we can call these small weasels exclusive predators of these voles, while local foxes and common owls often prey on voles, but their recipes are wider, and voles only account for a small part of them, so they cannot be called exclusive predators of voles.

Tibetan foxes prey on plateau pikas.

No matter the macro environment or micro habitat, the distribution range of Tibetan fox and plateau pika is very coincident. According to authoritative research reports, the main food source of Tibetan fox is plateau pika, followed by some small rodents, accounting for 95% of the total food source, so Tibetan fox is recognized as the exclusive predator of plateau pika.

20 14 a more detailed study also confirmed this view. The researchers collected 62 individual feces from Tibetan fox habitats, and found that 99% of them contained plateau pika DNA, 97% contained plateau pika DNA as the main exogenous DNA, and 73% contained plateau pika DNA as the only exogenous DNA, so we were very sure.

Harmfulness of plateau pika to alpine grassland ecology Plateau pika is a very strange creature. Some of them are monogamous, some are polygamous and even polygamous, which is rare among most animals in the world.

Plateau pika begins to enter the breeding period in April every year, reaches its peak in May and ends in August. After 30 days of pregnancy, one child can give birth to 3-6 children, and one year can give birth to a second child. From this aspect, we can see that the reproductive ability of plateau pika is similar to that of mice. They feed on grass, sedge and other grasses. If it is not controlled, you can imagine how much disaster it will bring to the plateau grassland.

Plateau pika is a typical herbivore, which has different degrees of palatability to different plants and different parts on the plateau. Simply put, pikas can eat all kinds of plants and plant parts, especially Stipa, Elymus, Artemisia and so on. These plants are the main components of plateau grassland, and pikas can eat different parts of these grasses with the change of seasons.

Plants flourish in spring and summer, and plateau pikas mainly feed on green leaves. In autumn and winter, before the plants turn green, plateau pikas mainly feed on the roots and buds of plants.

An adult plateau pika eats about 77.3 grams of grass every day, accounting for about half of its weight. If the grass grows wildly in spring and summer, it is scary for pikas to eat too much.

Maybe we don't live in alpine meadow, so it's hard for us to understand why a little pika can bring such a big disaster to the meadow. In this regard, we might as well refer to the one that has plagued Australia for a hundred years. Rabbit disaster? .

Before rabbits were introduced to Australia, the ecosystem here was very different from other places on the earth, but because no exotic species were introduced, local plants and animals were in a long-term stable and balanced state. However, after the introduction of rabbits, due to the lack of natural enemies and the vigorous reproductive ability of rabbits, thousands of rabbits appeared on the Australian grassland overnight, and they ate grass crazily, which eventually led to grassland degradation in most parts of Australia and brought serious losses to animal husbandry.

Rabbits running wild

In the plateau ecological environment, the plateau pika is similar to the Australian hare, and if its development is not restricted, it will undoubtedly be harmful to the grassland.

Some areas in China have tried their best to eliminate plateau pikas since 1950s, and the most important way is poisoning. In 2006 alone, more than 360,000 square kilometers of plateau pika were poisoned, which directly led to the death of tens of thousands of plateau pika, and even led to the extinction of this species in some areas.

The harm of plateau pika to grassland is not only manifested in? Eat? Above, still in it? Live broadcast? On the other hand, they have strong reproductive ability, strong adaptability and wide distribution. When the number of pikas increased sharply, their nesting range expanded, and new holes and old holes staggered into a net under them. When it rains, it is easy to collapse, which makes the whole grassland break and the sand is exposed. Under the action of sandstorm, the grassland slowly degenerates and eventually brings irreversible damage to the plateau grassland.

The main living area of Tibetan foxes is 3500-5200 meters above sea level, so their food sources are mostly plateau creatures, such as plateau pikas, alpine rats, sand lizards and Himalayan marmots. A few male Tibetan foxes can prey on young sheep and livestock.

Although it looks like a hidden fox? Round? Yes, it is not very flexible, but it is one of the most important predators on the plateau and a key predator. The success rate of hunting is higher than that of wolves and solitary lions, which plays a restraining role for most small animals.

Most foxes living in the forest sleep during the day and go out at night. They start to go out for food at night and don't go home until dawn. Unlike Tibetan foxes, they are diurnal, and there is not much difference in the frequency of activities throughout the day. In 2003, China scholars' research on the habits of Tibetan foxes in Sichuan also proved this point.

In fact, the living habits of most predators are influenced by the environment and the rules of prey activities. The main food source of Tibetan fox is plateau pika, which belongs to the type of daytime activity. Tibetan foxes prey during the day to cater to the schedule of plateau pikas.

The direct influence of Tibetan fox on plateau ecology From the ecological point of view, the crisis faced by grassland is mainly grassland rodents, which are one of the reasons for grassland degradation. However, plateau pikas are not all harmful, and their contribution to alpine grassland is considerable. For example, the cave of plateau pika can provide shelter for many birds and lizards, and at the same time, it will form a micro-habitat around the cave, indirectly nourishing the grassland.

In addition, plateau pika is also a local key species, which is the main prey of most plateau carnivores and most raptors.

There is a saying in the medical field. It is impossible to talk about the medicinal properties of any drug regardless of its size. In fact, this sentence also applies to natural ecosystems. If the density of plateau pika in an area is maintained at an appropriate level, it will be beneficial to the ecosystem of the area, but once the number exceeds the maximum capacity of this system, it will be harmful.

Although grassland degradation and food loss of plateau pika can also limit its population and regain its balance, it is only carried out by two elements in the system? Save yourself? The method is too slow, and it is difficult to get good results, so one more element must be added, and the role of Tibetan fox is undoubtedly to limit the population of plateau pika.

Plateau pikas mainly live in the daytime. Usually when the sun shines directly on the hole, they begin to go out for activities. There are two main activity peaks in a day, 9 am and 6 pm respectively. With the change of weather and season, the peak of their activities will also change.

During 20 10, Chinese researchers found that the main natural enemies of plateau pika are small mammal predators, mainly Ai Hu, Yellow weasel and Tibetan fox, and all raptors, especially Tibetan fox, which can be called exclusive predators of plateau pika.

Too many plateau pikas will cause grassland degradation, and too few will make the plateau grassland ecosystem unbalanced. We can't simply kill them all, but we should control their numbers within a certain range, so as to ensure the balance of the ecosystem.

Tibetan fox is the main plateau predator, which undoubtedly plays a key role in controlling this threshold. Tibetan foxes play an important role in plateau ecosystem with their unique niche, and their existence directly affects the health of grassland ecology, so the survival state of Tibetan foxes is very important for these areas!

Living conditions of Tibetan foxes At present, the protection of Tibetan foxes belongs to non-endangered species, that is to say, their living conditions are still optimistic and people do not need special protection. 1989 The number of Tibetan foxes in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was estimated to be about 37,000, and its population density was positively correlated with the prey grade. For example, in northwest Sichuan, there are more pikas in the local plateau, and the density of Tibetan foxes is relatively high.

Distribution map of Tibetan fox

Because the nature of Tibetan fox preying on plateau pika has always been known, it is naturally protected as a beneficial animal and is less damaged by poaching and other factors.

In the past, the main threatening factors were manslaughter caused by human poisoning plateau pikas and secondary reduction caused by pikas reduction.

This situation gradually disappears with the improvement of people's weakening toxicity and reducing secondary poisoning, but each era will have its own characteristics. Now the main threat of Tibetan foxes is stray Tibetan mastiffs.

Groups of stray Tibetan mastiffs

We all know Tibetan mastiff very well. What's its name? Snow god dog? Dogs are huge and fierce, and there are not a few adult Tibetan mastiffs weighing more than 50 kilograms. When the mastiff farm economy collapsed, a large number of Tibetan mastiffs fled to the plateau and became a new predatory force.

Compared with the tall and powerful Tibetan mastiff, the Tibetan fox itself is not afraid of advantages, not to mention that most Tibetan mastiffs live in groups. In some areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tibetan mastiffs often kill Tibetan foxes, which is the most important cause of unnatural death of Tibetan foxes.

Although we don't need to worry too much about the living conditions of Tibetan foxes at present, the ecosystem in alpine regions is always more fragile than other places. As a unique species in the plateau, Tibetan foxes are bound to be affected by the environment, so the most important and direct way to protect Tibetan foxes is to protect the environment.

This kind of animal not only has a lovely and happy appearance, but also can bring a lot of happiness to people. At the same time, it plays an important role in plateau ecosystem. Its existence directly affects the health of grassland ecology.