Serow

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.

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.