Wildlife in China
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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's vast and diverse landscape is home to a profound variety and abundance of wildlife. As of one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, China has, according to one measure, 7,516 species of vertebrates including 4,936 fish, 1,269 bird, 562
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
, 403 reptile and 346
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
species. In terms of the number of species, China ranks third in the world in mammals,IUCN Initiatives – Mammals – Analysis of Data – Geographic Patterns 2012
IUCN. Retrieved 24 April 2013. Data does not include species in Taiwan.
eighth in birds, seventh in reptiles and seventh in amphibians.IUCN Initiatives – Amphibians – Analysis of Data – Geographic Patterns 2012
IUCN. Retrieved 24 April 2013. Data does not include species in Taiwan.
Many species of animals are endemic to China, including the country's most famous wildlife species, the
giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...
. In all, about one-sixth of mammal species and two-thirds of amphibian species in China are endemic to the country. Wildlife in China share habitat with and bear acute pressure from the world's largest population of humans. At least 840 species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction in China, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine. Endangered wildlife is protected by law, and as of 2005, the country has over 2,349 nature reserves, covering a total area of , about 15 percent of China's total land area.


Mammals


Primates

China is home to 21 primate species including
gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...
s,
macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principally ...
s, leaf monkeys, gray langurs, snub-nosed monkeys and lorises. Most of China's primate species are endangered. Both apes and monkeys, particularly gibbons and macaques are prominently featured in Chinese culture, folk religion, art and literature.
Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The only
apes Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
native to China are the
gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...
s. Gibbons are tree-dwellers, using their long arms to swing from branches. Gibbons can be recognized by their loud calls, with mating pairs often singing together as a duet. The Hainan black crested gibbon is among the rarest and most endangered apes. Endemic to the island of Hainan, there are fewer than 30 individuals left in the Bawangling National Nature Reserve. Like many other gibbons, male Hainan black crested gibbons are black in color while females are golden brown. The
eastern black crested gibbon The eastern black-crested gibbon (''Nomascus nasutus''), also known as the Cao-vit black crested gibbon or the Cao-vit crested gibbon, is a species of gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained o ...
is nearly as rare with only 20 or so in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region along with 30 in neighboring Vietnam. About 99% of this ape's habitat in China has been lost. The black crested gibbon is found across a greater swath of
southwestern China Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China. Geography Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. The
Yunnan lar gibbon The Yunnan lar gibbon (''Hylobates lar yunnanensis''), also known as the Yunnan white-handed gibbon, is a subspecies of the lar gibbon, a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. This Chinese subspecies is thought to be extinct.Grueter et al. ( ...
, a subspecies of the lar or white-handed gibbon, might be extinct in China. The animal was last observed by
zoologists This is a list of notable zoologists who have published names of new taxa under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A * Abe – Tokiharu Abe (1911–1996) * Abeille de Perrin, Ab. – Elzéar Abeille de Perrin (1843–1910) * ...
in 1988 and its call was last heard by locals in 2002. A survey in November 2007 in the Nangunhe National Nature Reserve yielded no sign of this gibbon. The northern white-cheeked gibbon is nearly extinct in the wilderness of southern Yunnan where they are hunted by local people as charms of good luck and for their bones which are made into weaving instrument and
chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of China, Chinese origin that have been used as Kitchen utensil, kitchen and List of eating utensils, eating utensils in most of East Asia, East and Southe ...
. As of 2008, a captive population of eight northern white-cheeked gibbons was living in the Mengyang Nature Reserve. Two of the individuals were released into the wild but still relied on tourists for food. The eastern hoolock gibbon, which are distinguished by white tufts of hair above the eyebrows, are found in western Yunnan, along the border with
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. The
western hoolock gibbon The western hoolock gibbon (''Hoolock hoolock'') is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The species is found in Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar west of the Chindwin River. Classification Mootnick and ...
might be found in southeastern Tibet. All gibbons in China are Class I protected species. The most commonly found primates in China are macaques, which have oversized cheeks to store food and live in large troops. The range of the rhesus or common macaque extends from as far north as the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi and down to Hainan.
Tibetan macaques The Tibetan macaque (''Macaca thibetana''), also known as the Chinese stump-tailed macaque or Milne-Edwards' macaque, is a macaque species found from eastern Tibet east to Guangdong and north to Shaanxi in China. It has also been reported from no ...
are often seen at tourist sites such as Mount Emei and Huangshan.
Stump-tailed macaque The stump-tailed macaque (''Macaca arctoides''), also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaque native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country. Its range ...
s have distinct red faces and live throughout southern China. The
Formosan rock macaque The Formosan rock macaque (''Macaca cyclopis''), also known as the Formosan rock monkey or Taiwanese macaque, is a macaque endemic to the island of Taiwan, which has also been introduced to Japan. Besides humans, Formosan rock macaques are the on ...
is endemic to Taiwan. Assam macaques are found in higher elevation areas of southern Tibet and the Southwest, and the
northern pig-tailed macaque The northern pig-tailed macaque (''Macaca leonina'') is a vulnerable species of macaque in the subfamily Cercopithecidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Traditionally, ''M. leonina'' w ...
in Yunnan. Macaques are Class I protected species in China but their numbers have fallen sharply. Monkey brain is a delicacy in parts of Guangxi and Guangdong, and macaques are often hunted for food. The
Monpa The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependen ...
and
Lhoba Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...
people of southern Tibet eat Assam macaques. From 1998 to 2004, the number of rhesus macaques in China fell from 254,000 to about 77,000. Over the same period, the Tibetan macaque population fell by 83% from about 100,000 to only about 17,000. Snub-nosed monkeys are so named because they have only nostrils and virtually no nose. Four of the five species in the world are found in China, including three that are endemic. All live in mountainous forests at elevations of 1,500–3,400 m above sea level. The
golden snub-nosed monkey The golden snub-nosed monkey (''Rhinopithecus roxellana'') is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests ...
is most famous and most widely distributed, with subspecies in Sichuan, Hubei and Shaanxi. The
gray snub-nosed monkey The gray snub-nosed monkey (''Rhinopithecus brelichi''), also known as Brelich's snub-nosed monkey, Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, and Guizhou golden monkey, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to China, where it is ...
is the most endangered, with about 700 individuals, found only in Guizhou. The
black snub-nosed monkey The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (''Rhinopithecus bieti''), also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yun ...
has about 1,700 individuals living in 17 identified groups in Yunnan and eastern Tibet. A small population of Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was found in western Yunnan in 2011. Other Old World monkeys in China include the
François' langur François' langur (''Trachypithecus francoisi''), also known as Francois' leaf monkey, the Tonkin leaf monkey, or the white side-burned black langur is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. It is one of the least studied ...
,
white-headed langur The white-headed langur (''Trachypithecus leucocephalus'') is a critically endangered species of langur endemic to Guangxi, China. Taxonomy It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Cat Ba langur (''T. poliocephalus''), which is now thoug ...
, Phayre's leaf monkey, capped langur and Shortridge's langur, which are collectively categorized as lutungs and the
Nepal gray langur The Nepal gray langur (''Semnopithecus schistaceus'') is a gray langur endemic to the Himalayas in Nepal, far southwestern Tibet, northern India, northern Pakistan, Bhutan and possibly Afghanistan. It is found in forests at an elevation of . Its ...
, which is considered a true langur. All of these species are endangered. Lutungs, also called leaf monkeys, have relatively short arms, longer legs and long tails along with a hood of hair above their eyes.
François' langur François' langur (''Trachypithecus francoisi''), also known as Francois' leaf monkey, the Tonkin leaf monkey, or the white side-burned black langur is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. It is one of the least studied ...
is found only in southwest China and northern Vietnam. The range of the white-headed langur is much smaller—only in southern Guangxi and
Cát Bà Island Cát Bà Island is the largest of the 367 islands spanning 260 km2 (100 sq mi) that comprise the Cat Ba Archipelago, which makes up the southeastern edge of Lan Ha Bay in Northern Vietnam. Cat Ba island has a surface area of 285 km2 (1 ...
in Vietnam. Phayre's leaf monkey is native to Yunnan and a larger swath of Indochina. The capped and Shortridge's langurs live along the Yunnan-Myanmar border. The Nepal gray langur is larger than the lutungs and found in southern Tibet. Whereas apes and monkeys are grouped as
haplorhine Haplorhini (), the haplorhines (Greek for "simple-nosed") or the "dry-nosed" primates, is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians (Simiiformes or anthropoids), as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is some ...
or "dry nose" primates, lorises are strepsirrhine or "wet nose" primates. Lorises have big eyes, tiny ears, live in trees and are active at night. The pygmy slow loris and Bengal slow loris are both found in southern Yunnan and Guangxi and are Class I protected species.


Carnivores


Cats

China's big cat species include the tiger,
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
, snow leopard and
clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...
. The tiger is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, and figures prominently in Chinese culture and history. Tiger bones are used in traditional Chinese medicine and tiger fur is used for decoration. The animal is vulnerable to poaching and habitat loss. Four tiger populations were native to China. All are critically endangered, protected and live in nature reserves. The Siberian tiger occurs in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, along the border with Russia and North Korea. The Caspian tiger was last seen in the
Manasi River The Manasi River (, ug, ماناس دەرياسى also called Manas) is in the south of Dzungarian Basin, Xinjiang, China. Historically, the Manas River crossed a large section of the Gurbantünggüt Desert, terminating in Lake Manas (); its leng ...
Basin of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the 1960s, where this population is now
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
. The South China tiger is an endemic population whose habitat is now confined to the mountain regions of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Fujian. A few Indochinese tigers were known to live in Yunnan where six nature reserves have been established for their protection. Three leopard
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are thought to occur in China: *Leopards recorded in
Qomolangma National Nature Preserve The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve (QNNP), also known as the Chomolungma Nature Reserve (QNP), is a protected area 3.381 million hectares in size in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Located on the Roof of the ...
in southern Tibet are subsumed to the Indian leopard. *The
Indochinese leopard The Indochinese leopard (''Panthera pardus delacouri'') is a leopard subspecies native to mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. In Indochina, leopards are rare outside protected areas and threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation as w ...
occurs in Yunnan Province of southern China, where the Pearl River is thought to form a barrier to leopard populations farther north. Camera-trap surveys conducted between 2002 and 2009 in 11 nature reserves in southern China recorded leopards only in
Changqing National Nature Reserve Changqing National Nature Reserve () is located near Huayang Village in the Qin Mountains of Shaanxi province of China. * Location: south of Xi'an * Area: * Highest point: * Year established: 1995 Flora and fauna *Crested ibis, ''Nipponia nip ...
in the Qinling Mountains, but not in Sichuan's Wolong Nature Reserve and other protected areas in Sichuan. *The Amur leopard is native to northern China including the Jilin province along the border with Russia and North Korea, where it has been recorded by camera-traps in Hunchun National Nature Reserve. Leopards cross between China, Russia and North Korea across the Tumen River despite a high and long wire fence marking the international boundary. Contemporary records of leopards exist from protected areas in Hebei, Henan and Shanxi Provinces, and Ningxia Autonomous Region, but not from
Gansu Province Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibeta ...
. Whether leopards still occur in Qinghai Province is uncertain. The species has probably been extirpated in Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Fujian,
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
and
Jiangxi province Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...
s. It is listed as nationally Critically Endangered, but receives little attention from Chinese wildlife biologists and conservationists. Fragmented leopard populations in central China have been subsumed to the Amur leopard, as there is no notable geographical barrier to northern China that would have prevented
gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...
in the past. The range of the snow leopard extends across the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau,
Karakorum Mountains The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
, and Tian Shan in western China. The
clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...
occurs in forest regions south of the Yangtze River. It became locally extinct in Taiwan in 1972. The Chinese mountain cat is endemic to China and lives on the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It was recorded only in eastern Qinghai and north-western Sichuan. It was photographed by a camera-trap for the first time in 2007. One individual was observed and photographed in May 2015 in the
Ruoergai Ruoergai County or Zoigê County (; ) is a county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China, bordering Gansu to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of the Tibetan traditional region of Amdo ...
grasslands. The range of the Eurasian lynx includes the
Greater Khingan Mountains The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...
of Northeast China. The Pallas's cat occurs at high altitudes on the Tibetan Plateau and in western China. The Asiatic wildcat is distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai,
Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia. Within Xinjiang, it has been confined to three southern prefectures: Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Aksu and
Hotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...
. It is declining rapidly in its natural habitat in the Xinjiang desert region of China mainly because of excessive hunting for pelt trade followed by shrinkage of its habitat due to cultivation, oil and gas exploration and excessive use of
pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...
. The
Asian golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008, and is threatened by poach ...
and leopard cat have been recorded in the
Changqing National Nature Reserve Changqing National Nature Reserve () is located near Huayang Village in the Qin Mountains of Shaanxi province of China. * Location: south of Xi'an * Area: * Highest point: * Year established: 1995 Flora and fauna *Crested ibis, ''Nipponia nip ...
in the Qinling Mountains and in the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve in the Min Mountains. The leopard cat also occurs in the Wolong Nature Reserve and other protected areas in the
Qionglai Mountains Qionglai Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sichuan Province of China. It runs in the general north-south direction, and is located mostly within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the north-central part of the province. ...
and Daliang Mountains.


Canines

The family
Canidae Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within th ...
has many members in China including the dog,
gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...
, dhole,
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
, corsac fox,
Tibetan sand fox The Tibetan fox (''Vulpes ferrilata''), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to elevations of about . It is listed as Least Concer ...
and raccoon dog. The gray wolf, largest of the canids, has two subspecies in China—the Eurasian wolf, which is found in all of mainland china save for the islands in the south china and eastern china sea Tibetan wolf, which lives on the Tibetan Plateau. Some of the earliest dogs may have been domesticated in East Asia, and several Chinese dog breeds including the shar-pei and chow chow are among the most ancient in terms of DNA similarity to the gray wolf. The dhole is closely related to wolves and coyotes and is found right now in only 6 provinces;
Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, Yunnan, Tibet, Sichuan, and Xinjiang. The red fox, the largest fox species, can be found in every part of China except the northwest. The corsac fox is found in northeastern China and the
Tibetan sand fox The Tibetan fox (''Vulpes ferrilata''), also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a species of true fox endemic to the high Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh plateau, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan, up to elevations of about . It is listed as Least Concer ...
in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan. The raccoon dog, one of the few canids that can climb trees, is native to eastern and northeastern China.


Pandas, bears

The
giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...
, perhaps China's most famous wildlife species, lives in six patches of highland valleys of the Min, Qionglai, Liang,
Daxiangling Daxiangling (), or Daxiang Range is a fairly small mountain range in China's Sichuan Province. It runs in the general western and northwestern direction from the famous sacred Mount Emei, and is part of the western mountainous rim of the Sichuan Bas ...
, Xiaoxiangling and Qinling Mountains of the upper Yangtze River basin, which are spread over 45 counties in Sichuan,
Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
and Shaanxi. Only about 1,600 live in the wild (80% in Sichuan) along with about 300 in captivity in Chinese breeding centers and zoos. The animal is rare and elusive. Though classified as an omnivore, the giant panda's diet is over 90% bamboo. Its black and white coloration provides a degree camouflage in the dense forests, but the adult animal has no natural predators. Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed; they have short mating periods, and give birth to only one or two cubs per year. The giant panda cub is the smallest baby, compared in proportion to the parents, of any placental mammal. The giant panda is considered to be a national treasure and is an endangered species protected by state law. Since the 1970s, giant pandas have been given or lent to foreign zoos as gesture of diplomatic goodwill. Other more common bears in China include the Asiatic black bear and the brown bear which are found across much of the country. Sub-species of the brown bear include the
Himalayan brown bear The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China an ...
and the
Tibetan blue bear The Tibetan bear (''Ursus arctos pruinosus'') or Tibetan blue bear is a subspecies of the brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. One of the rarest subspecies of bear in the world, the blue bear is rarely sighted in the ...
in Tibet, and the Ussuri brown bear in Northeast China. The sun bear is found in Yunnan. Bears, especially black bears, are also raised in captivity to harvest their
bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bile ...
for use in traditional Chinese medicine. The red panda - which unlike the giant panda is not a bear and more closely resembles a raccoon - is from a separate family by itself (Ailuridae), and is found in Sichuan and Yunnan.


Viverridae and Herpestidae

The viverrid and mongoose families of small carnivores are represented by numerous members occurring in southern China, including binturong, large Indian civet, small Indian civet,
Owston's palm civet Owston's palm civet (''Chrotogale owstoni'') is a civet native to Vietnam, Laos and southern China. It is listed as Endangered by IUCN because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations, inferr ...
, masked palm civet, Asian palm civet,
small-toothed palm civet The small-toothed palm civet (''Arctogalidia trivirgata''), also known as the three-striped palm civet, is a palm civet native to dense forests of Southeast Asia, from the Assam district of India to Indochina and the Malay Peninsula and on Sumat ...
, crab-eating mongoose and small Indian mongoose.


Otter, badger, weasel, marten, wolverine

The largest family of carnivorous mammals belongs to the otters, badgers, weasels, martens, and wolverines, all of which are found in China. All of these mustelids are short, furry animals with short, rounded ears and thick fur, but they differ markedly in size, habit and habitat. The
sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
, a species of marten, is prized for its fine fur, which along with ginseng and deer antler velvet, are known as the "three treasures of Manchuria." The sable is found in Manchuria (also called the Northeast) and Altai region of northern Xinjiang. The beech marten of western China and yellow-throated marten of southern China are closely related to the sable. The Siberian weasel, known locally as the "yellow rat wolf," is the most common weasel in China. It is found throughout China Proper and Manchuria, and known to steal poultry from farmers but helps to control the rodent population. Hair from the tail of the Siberian weasel is used to make ink brush for traditional Chinese calligraphy. Other weasel species include the
least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has bee ...
and stoat in the north, yellow-bellied weasel and
back-striped weasel The back-striped weasel (''Mustela strigidorsa''), also called the stripe-backed weasel, is a weasel widely distributed in Southeastern Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in view of its presumed large population, occurrence ...
in the south, and
mountain weasel The mountain weasel (''Mustela altaica''), also known as the pale weasel, Altai weasel or ''solongoi'', primarily lives in high-altitude environments, as well as rocky tundra and grassy woodlands. This weasel rests in rock crevices, tree trunks, ...
in the west. The
steppe polecat The steppe polecat (''Mustela eversmanii''), also known as the white or masked polecat, is a species of mustelid native to Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distrib ...
is bigger than the Siberian weasel and found across northern China. In Chinese, the wolverine is called "sable bear" because it is bigger than a sable and smaller than a bear and resembles both animals. The animal lives in caves and dens, which they do not dig but take from other animals such as bears, foxes and Bobak marmots. Wolverines are fierce creatures that will fight bears and wolves for food. They are found in the Greater Khingan range of Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia and the Altai Mountains of northern Xinjiang, and number only about 200. The European otter is found throughout much of Eurasia and China. It is nearly extinct on Taiwan though some have been found on the island of Kinmen, off the coast of Fujian. The
Oriental small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its we ...
is the smallest otter species and lives in mangrove and freshwater swamps of southern China and Taiwan. The smooth-coated otter is confined to parts of Yunnan and Guangdong. Like sable and martens, otter fur is also used make clothing. Sables and wolverines are Class I protected species. Martens and otters are Class II protected species. Badgers have distinctive white stripes on their faces with one long stripe that extends from nose to tail. The Asian badger is found throughout China Proper and the eastern Himalayas. The hog badger has a pig-like snout and has a slightly smaller range than the Asian badger.
Ferret-badger Ferret-badgers are the six species of the genus ''Melogale'', which is the only genus of the monotypic mustelid subfamily Helictidinae. * Bornean ferret-badger (''Melogale everetti'') * Chinese ferret-badger (''Melogale moschata'') *Formosan fer ...
s are the smallest badgers and two species live in China. The Chinese ferret-badger is found across much of southern China south of the Yangtze River and the
Burmese ferret-badger The Burmese ferret-badger (''Melogale personata''), also known as the large-toothed ferret-badger, is a mustelid native to Southeast Asia. Description The Burmese ferret-badger has a head and body length of , a tail length of and a body weight ...
along Yunnan's border with Laos and Vietnam.


Seals, sea lions

Pinnipeds are also classified as carnivores and are divided between earless or true seals and eared seals. True seals do not have ears and cannot get their hind flippers underneath their bodies to crawl. Eared seals, which include sea lions, in contrast, have protruding ears and can "walk" with all four limbs on land. True seals in China include the
bearded seal The bearded seal (''Erignathus barbatus''), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (''eri'' and ''gnathos'') that refer to its h ...
which is found along the coast of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong in the East and South China Sea, the ringed seal in the Yellow Sea, and spotted seal, which is primarily found in the
Bohai Gulf The Bohai Sea () is a marginal sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of a ...
and the northern Yellow Sea, but have been seen as far south as Guangdong. All seals are Class II protected animal. Sea lions have Class I protection. The spotted seal is the only seal species that breeds in China. Its breeding grounds are found along the rim of Liaodong Bay in the Bohai Gulf, including the estuary at the mouth of the Shuangtaizi River near
Panjin Panjin () is a coastal prefecture-level city in central Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, situated on the northern shore of the Liaodong Bay. It borders Anshan to the east, Yingkou to the southeast, and Jinzhou to the west and north ...
and Changxing Island near
Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
, and Baengnyeongdo sanctuary in Korean EEZ. These seals have been poached for its fur and genitals, which were utilized to make an aphrodisiac. Their habitats have also been heavily damaged by land reclamation, fish farming, and petroleum development. A South Korean NGO has been trying to increase public awareness and support for the protection of the seals in China, North Korea and South Korea.Green Korea United : Poaching for 1000 Spotted Seals, Wailing of Spotted Seals
Green-korea.tistory.com. Retrieved on 15 September 2011.
Protection stations have been set up to monitor the breeding grounds and wildlife protection authorities compensate fisherman who turn in live seals caught in their nets. In April 2011, the construction of an express highway along the coast was halted due to its adverse impact on the seal breeding ground. Satellite trackings revealed that not only within Yellow Sea, but also seals can migrate even between Primorsky Krai in Russia to Yellow Sea, exceeding 3,300 km in total. Recoveries and recolonizations have been observed recently, such as along the coast of
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
in 1999, and in the
Miaodao Islands The ''miaodao'' (苗刀) is a Chinese two-handed dao or saber of the Republican Era, with a narrow blade, long hilt, and an overall length of or more. The name means "sprout saber", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a ne ...
of the Bohai Sea since 2000s. The northern fur seal, an eared seal, occasionally appears off the coast of eastern and southern China and southern Taiwan. The largest of the eared seals is the
Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as the Steller's sea lion and northern sea lion, is a near-threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus ''Eumetopias'' and the largest of t ...
, who lives primarily in the Arctic but is also seen along the Yellow Sea coast in Jiangsu and Bohai Gulf in Liaoning. Among Yellow sea – adjacent areas within Korean EEZ, occurrence can be on locations such as at Jeju Island.


Whales, dolphins, porpoises

China has
cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...
species that live in both freshwater and the sea. The nearly extinct
baiji dolphin The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolph ...
and
Chinese white dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...
are Class I protected species. All other cetaceans in China are Class II protected species. In total, 22 species of smaller cetaceans inhabit within Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong's, and Macau's waters including Baiji. Although being not officially recognized, the presence of Irrawaddy dolphins have been questioned. In ancient China, inscriptions of the whales varied and inscriptions of whales and sharks were occasionally mixed. During the Qing Dynasty, certain knowledge on whales had been deepened with the establishment of whaling industries in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan although both oceanic and freshwater dolphins had been classified as different animals from whales. It is said that climate change during the dynasty caused small fish to flourish within Yellow and Bohai Seas and drew large numbers of whales into the basins. The
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
was one of the early signatories of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The People's Republic of China signed convention in September 1980 and banned domestic whaling in 1981, and also signed in the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Until recently, observing live cetaceans nonetheless of any species including minke whales and smaller dolphins and porpoises are very rare in Bohai and Yellow Seas within Chinese side,however, increases in confirmation of minke whales and other species have been confirmed in larger part of Yellow Sea basin especially around
Changhai County Changhai County () is a county under the administration of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. It consists of several islands in the Yellow Sea and is located offshore of the Liaodong Peninsula. There are 112 small islands and reefs in the county ...
due to improves in water quality and productivity achieved by fishery regulations and creating ocean farms on Zhangzi Island, and local industries have been considered to operate whale watching tours as a future prospect.獐子岛海洋牧场生态环境持续优化
. Ccstock.cn (23 July 2015). Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
Modern distributions of cetaceans both on continent and oceanic islands including Taiwan are largely biased on toothed whales due to severe declines of baleen whales.


Baiji

The
baiji The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolph ...
dolphin's habit historically covered much of the Yangtze River and its tributaries and lakes, from Yichang to Shanghai. It is mentioned in historical records going back 2,000 years. According to legend, the baiji dolphin is the reincarnation of a princess and called the "Goddess of the Yangtze." As recently as the 1950s, there were as many as 6,000 baiji dolphins in China, but their number fell to the hundreds by the 1980s, under 100 in the 1990s and fewer than a dozen since 2000. The Yangtze River catchment area is one of the most densely populated areas in China and the world. The river, China's longest, is also a major highway for ships. Water and noise pollution, commercial fishing, and large propellers of ships are all major threats to the baiji. The building of the Gezhouba Dam in the 1970s and the Three Gorges Dam in the 1990s blocked the access of the dolphins upstream, altered the seasonal flow of the river, and enabled large oceangoing ships to sail on the river. By 1997, a survey of the river found only 13 baiji. A Sino-Swiss joint survey of the river from Yichang to Shanghai in 2006 found no animals and declared the species to be functionally extinct, that is, even if a few individuals continued to survive, their numbers are too few to reproduce. The last sighting confirmed by zoologist was in 2004 when a dead baiji dolphin washed ashore near Nanjing. Nature reserves to protect the baiji dolphin were established along the Yangtze in Hunan, Hubei and Anhui province, along with observation and captive centers. The longest living baiji dolphin in captivity, Qiqi, lived in a dolphinarium in Wuhan from 1980 to 2002. The
Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Nature Reserve The Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Nature Reserve is an area of wetland in the Yangtze basin near Shishou, Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Inside the reserve is the Tian'e-Zhou lake which was an intended sanctuary for the baiji (Yangtze river dolphin ...
, created out of an oxbow bend in the Yangtze was designed as a captive breeding area for the baiji. One baiji was sent there in 1995 but died in 1996. The reserve is now a breeding ground for the
finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. They are commonly known as finless porpoises. Genetic studies indicate that ''Neophocaena'' is ...
.


Finless porpoise

At least two subspecies of
finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. They are commonly known as finless porpoises. Genetic studies indicate that ''Neophocaena'' is ...
are known to inhabit coastal waters such as off
Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
< Nanjing, Nanji Islands Marine Sanctuary, Jiushan Chain Islands
Weizhou Island Weizhou Island () is a Chinese island in Beibu Gulf in the Gulf of Tonkin. The largest island of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Weizhou is west of Leizhou Peninsula, south of Beihai, and east of Vietnam. Administratively, it is part of Wei ...
, and at Matsu Islands. A freshwater subspecies lives in the Yangtze,
Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places *Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated ''Gā ...
and Xiang Rivers. Unlike dolphins, they lack a dorsal fin. The freshwater porpoise faces the same threat as the baiji. In April 2012, twelve were found dead in Dongting Lake in a span of 44 days. Construction of the Poyang Lake Dam may cause severe damages on remaining population. As of 2012, the Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Nature Reserve had about 40 finless porpoises with another 85 in Dongting Lake and 300–400 in
Poyang Lake Poyang Lake (, Gan: Po-yong U), located in Jiujiang, is the largest freshwater lake in China. The lake is fed by the Gan, Xin, and Xiu rivers, which connect to the Yangtze through a channel. The area of Poyang Lake fluctuates dramatically be ...
. The freshwater finless porpoise, a Class II protected species, is rarer than the giant panda. They are also well present in
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
. In recent years, small concentrations have been confirmed at the estuaries on the mouth of Yellow River in Lijin County. Stable numbers of porpoises, two subspecies being involved, have been found recently along Chongming Island where the local waters show drastic recovery thanks to efforts to improve water quality.


Oceanic dolphins

Sousa, the
Chinese white dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...
(locally called the Matsu's fish) that was previously considered to be a subspecies of the
Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...
, lives in the waters off southern China including Wanshan Archipelago, Nanji Islands,2011
中国南部沿海生物多样性保护宣言
the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
, and Hong Kong,
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
Hainan Island such as around
Sanya Bay __NOTOC__ Sanya Bay () is one of the five major bays in Sanya City, Hainan Province, China. Located at the southern coast of Hainan, directly south of Sanya city, it has a 22 km beach. It is bordered by a peninsula at the east side. Within th ...
,
Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...
, Paracel Islands, and on
Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘''  or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
Islands to along western coasts of Taiwan, mainland coasts along Formosa Strait such as at Xiamen and Xiapu County, and Nánpēng Islands Marine Sanctuary in Nan'ao County,2016
汕头南澎青罗湾保护区:“美人鱼”和精灵们的海域
and Sanniang Bay dolphin sanctuary in Qingzhou. The Chinese white dolphin is a symbol of Hong Kong, and special sanctuary has been declared to protect the species with approaches to co-exist with sustainable
dolphin watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
, although the local population is in serious peril. Other oceanic dolphin species include the Pacific white-sided, spinner, striped, short-beaked common, long-beaked common, Fraser's, pantropical spotted, rough-toothed, common bottlenose, Indo-Pacific bottlenose, and Risso's dolphin. Risso's dolphins are one of the most commonly observed cetacean along east coasts of Taiwan.


Whales

Whales were historically abundant along Chinese and Taiwanese waters especially in winter and spring seasons where they come to coastal areas to breed and calve while especially
baleen whale Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their ...
s other than those migrated from outer pacific and Sea of Japan swam northward to feed in Yellow and Bohai basins during warmer seasons.世界唯一双胞胎鲸鱼标本藏身大连
. Hilizi.com (9 January 2012). Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
Most of large whales in Taiwan were recorded prior to 1952. In imperial times, villages along the coast of the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong hunted whales and made offerings of whale oil to the emperor in Beijing. On the other hand, however, like among other nations such as in Korea, China, Ebis in Japan, Indonesia, among Indochina including in Vietnam where whales were once well respected, heavenly deities among coastal people, regarded as the " King of the sea", the " Dragon emperor in the ocean", or "Dragon Soldiers" in almost entire coastal regions excluding above mentioned Hainan and Leizhou, as when whales were seen, fishermen and boats had to make ways for them and wait the whales to pass. In Chinese mythology, for example, ''Yu-kiang'', the ruler of the sea, is said to be a whale with arms and legs. Indigenous tribes on Taiwan also recognized the presences of large whales and representing whales in their local myths and folklores. Baleen whales found in the ocean off China's coast include the blue whale, the world's largest animal, as well as the Eden's, Omura's, Bryde's, common minke, fin, sei, and humpback whale. There had been an endemic, resident population of fin whales in Yellow and Bohai Sea to East China Sea historically. Minke whales are also resident in the same regions. Bryde's whales were considered to be historical residents along Taiwan and southern coasts. In Chinese EEZ, critically endangered North Pacific right whales and western
gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bree ...
s had been sighted in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea only on prior to 1970s especially for right whales while there had been records of gray whales and the only record in 21st century was of a matured female accidentally being killed in local fisheries in Pingtan on Taiwan Strait in 2007.What's on Xiamenbr>Tags > Pingtan gray whale
. Retrieved on 24 November. 2014
Following statements can be said for all larger baleen and toothed whales, but especially focusing on right whales and gray whales in here because of their behavioral patterns (very high reliances on shallow waters comparison to their size that even entering rivers mouths and estuaries regularly, their strong curiosities towards mankind) eased hunters to kill them and were wiped out much faster than the other species followed by humpbacks. Other
rorqual Rorquals () are the largest group of baleen whales, which comprise the family Balaenopteridae, containing ten extant species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach , and the fin wha ...
s' situations were very similar to them, but their local extinction (functionally) occurred later in 20th century by modern Japanese industries. Today, biology and natural histories of baleen or larger toothed whales in Chinese waters prior to exploitations are very unclear because at those times when academic studies or approaches to biology of cetaceans, or recordings of cetacean catches in coastal China started to develop, as whales were already in fewer numbers not enough for descent, feasible for academic accounts, catch recordings in local fisheries or industries weren't even conducted. This was likely to be caused as the local populations of migratory whales were intensively hunted to the point of near-functional extinctions on the main migratory collider (Japanese archipelago) by Japanese whaling industries. The fates of right whales, for example, were even cornered further by American Yankee whaling, Japanese mass illegal and research whaling, and the most devastatingly, Soviet Union's mass illegal whaling in 1960s to 70s with helps by Japan. Gray whales migrating on both of Japanese coasts were wiped out earlier than the Korean counterpart, then the other population migrating along Korean Peninsula later being targeted to the extinction by Japanese industries. The most intensive hunts of all times were carried out by Japanese whaling industries that covering wide range of east Asian waters including almost entire EEZ of China, North Korea and South Korea in the 20th century. Whaling stations were established in various areas along Chinese and Korean coastlines such as at Daya Bay, causing today's serious perils of whale populations and virtual, functional extinctions of almost all species or local stocks of larger baleen whales in east and southeast Asian nations. Any presences of larger cetaceans have not been confirmed for often or any. Toothed whales, excluding dolphins, include the
sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...
, dwarf sperm, pygmy sperm, Baird's beaked, Longman's beaked, Cuvier's beaked, Blainville's beaked, ginkgo-toothed beaked whales, and the orca and pilot whales ( false killer, pygmy killer, melon-headed, short-finned pilot). False killers still remain along coasts of mainland China, and are known to enter rivers regularly in particular regions. Stranding of toothed whales has been common on Taiwanese coasts. Large whales have become very rare on today's Chinese coasts where only tiny remnants of minke whales or several more survived. However, whale watching industries became popular attractions along the east coast of Taiwan, offering excellent opportunities to observe majestic creatures, especially in the summer. Recently, possibilities of establishing watching activities have been considered in Yellow Sea based on recoveries in numbers of whales observed. Larger types of rorquals have been sighted in pelagic waters occasionally.> Whales migrating through Tsushima Strait to possibly Chinese waters are under serious threats of being struck by high-speed vessels. Yankee and modern whaling records suggest that there had been historical summering and wintering/calving grounds for baleen whales in various areas along coastal China particularly in several locations. Below is a list showing some of those areas corresponding with baleen and few of larger toothed whales, but excluding undiscovered or unstudied regions and species.


=Baleen Whales

= *Right whales – Yellow Sea (especially adjacent to the island of Haiyang Dao where the junction of warmer and colder ocean currents exists nearby and all the modern appearances of the species on mainland coasts of China were concentrated), Shanghai and
Zhoushan Islands Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...
, Guangdong and Huiyang, and in Taiwan Strait such as along coasts of Fujian (e.g. Pingtan Island),
Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘''  or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
Islands, and Taiwan, and some reaching Hainan and Leizhou The first stranding of the species in China was on
Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...
between 2000 and 2006. The first sighting in China was at Shenzhen in 2015 although the observation was reported as a humpback, and the first of living animal in Sea of Japan since after the whaling was recorded at Namhae near Busan in February 2015 and this was the first confirmation of the species since after the last record in Korean EEZ in 1974. Since 1901, records have been concentrated to the vicinity of Amami Ōshima including sightings in 1997 and 2014, and the first confirmed whale in west coast of Kyushu strayed into the port of
Ushibuka, Kumamoto was a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 17,429 and the density of 194.17 persons per km². The total area was 89.76 km². On March 27, 2006, Ushi ...
in 2014. **Based on studies to indicate possible coastal forging grounds, wintering distributions quite possibly included areas along Zhejiang coasts as well. It is unknown whether or not there had been a population for this species to summer in Yellow and Bohai Sea prior to exploitations, however occurrences of
copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...
s within the basins and geographical natures indicate some whales might have summered there. *Gray and humpback whales – Yellow and Bohai Sea such as at
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, Zhoushan Islands, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Nánpēng Islands, Liaonin, Fujian to south of Hailing Bay, Daya Bay, Hong Kong, Hainan, Qizhou Liedao Islands (humpback), Wailuo Harbour, Paracel Islands, and so on. **Only about 130 gray whales survive today, but some recent studies indicate that the original Asian population might have been functionally extinct, and those whales seen on Sakhalin and Kamchatka could originate in the well-recovering eastern population. Fossil and catch records suggest there were once wintering/calving areas in Taiwan and adjacent areas. The most recent known record in Korean waters was the sighting of a pair off
Bangeojin Bangeojin is an area in the Dong-gu district of Ulsan, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North ...
, Ulsan in 1977. **In 2011, presences of gray whales were acoustically detected among pelagic waters in East China Sea between Chinese and Japanese waters. **Quantities of historical catches of humpbacks on southern coasts of the nation were small hence it is difficult to detect the original population size before exploitations. There was once a well-established forging area in southern coasts along Bashi Channel around
Kenting National Park Kenting National Park (), commonly known as Kenting (), is a national park located on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County, Taiwan, covering Hengchun, Checheng, and Manzhou Townships. Established on 1 January 1984, it is Taiwan's oldest a ...
or at southern coasts and islands of Taiwan like
Xiaoliuqiu Island Liuqiu, also known by several other names, is a coral island in the Taiwan Strait about southwest of the main island of Taiwan. It has an area of and approximately 13,000 residents, the vast majority of whom share only 10 surnames. It is ...
and
Dapeng Bay Dapeng Bay or Dapeng Wan, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a lagoon in Donggang Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the largest lagoon on the southwest coastline of Taiwan Island. Scenic Area The Dapeng Bay Natio ...
. Today, their numbers being confirmed in these areas and along east coast of Taiwan are very small despite observation efforts conducted by whale-watching companies, understandably for mainland coasts. More than several sightings including of a cow-calf pair have occurred along east coasts of Taiwan. Whales were once abundant at least on Pingtung areas and sporadic individuals have been observed off east coasts and Hualien and at islands such as Green Islandç¶ å³¶æµ·åŸŸé¯¨è±šå‹•ç‰©ç›¸èª¿æŸ¥
(PDF) . Retrieved on 29 August 2016.
and Orchid Island. The first confirmations in Taiwan was in 1994 of a pair off Hualien, and successful fleeing from entanglement off Taitung in 1999. Since in 2000 when a whale was sighted around Orchid Island, sightings have been reported almost annually at the Green island and Orchid Island, however, relative short stays in these waters indicate recoveries as winter forging grounds has not occurred yet. There have been two documented sightings of humpback whales around Hong Kong in 2009 and 2016. Possibly the first confirmed sighting in Yellow Sea of three animals including a cow calf pair, was recorded off
Changhai County Changhai County () is a county under the administration of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. It consists of several islands in the Yellow Sea and is located offshore of the Liaodong Peninsula. There are 112 small islands and reefs in the county ...
in 2015.长海又现鲸鱼 这回是好几条
. Hilizi.com (8 October 2015). Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
Very small numbers of whales are now migrating through Sea of Japan and Tsushima Strait, and further reaching Korean Peninsula. **Based on studies on historical catches and observations, some gray whales could have occurred year-round off China,Weller, David W. et al. (January 2013
A Gray Area: On the Matter of Gray Whales in the Western North Pacific (PDF Download Available)
Researchgate.net (7 May 2015). Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
possibly summering in Bohai Sea.我国沿海鲸类(一)——须鲸篇(下)_科学公园_【传送门】
Chuansong.me. Retrieved on 29 August 2016.
There had been at least 24 records of gray whales in Chinese waters since 1933 including sightings, strandings, and bycatch. DNA analysis of 2011 specimen indicate that this female might not originate in the western population. Whether or not humpback whales ever summered within Yellow and Bohai basins historically is unknown. *Bryde's or
Eden's whale Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. ...
s – Historically residential among Taiwan, Fujian and Guangdong to Hong Kong, Hainan and Leizhou, and
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
such as off Weizhou and Xieyang Islands. There have been occasional reported sightings on today including in areas within Hong Kong and Macau to Gulf of Tonkin, and strandings had been reported from various areas such as on Zhoushan. The number of whales currently migrating through Tsushima Strait is not clear although they have been observed on numerous occasions especially by the Japan Coast Guard. 24 Bryde's or Eden's whales were caught in Korean EEZ in the mid-1970s, and one was sighted in the Sea of Japan in 1994. *Fin whales – Historically residential in Yellow and Bohai Sea to East and South China Seas such as off Paracel Islands, and at least two other local groups, Sea of Japan residents and the group once migrated along the Pacific side of Japanese archipelago, once migrated to Chinese waters The East China Sea group is considered to be either functionally extinct or critically endangered due to being one of main targets by Japanese whaling in 20th century, and today there have been occasional strandings or findings of deceased individuals along sporadic areas from Yellow and Bohai Seas to other parts including southern shores like at Kam District in Wenchang, Shanghai (although the whale was speculated to have died in offshore waters), and Ningbo. The last of confirmed sightings on Taiwan is unknown although some media and tourism operators claim that migrations still occur, and whales might still migrate in pelagic waters. The only modern record among Ryukyu Islands was of a rotten carcass beached on Ishigaki Island in 2005. The last of known records on Korean Peninsula was in 1973, but there have been recent by-catches along the coasts. Regarding Yellow Sea, a juvenile was accidentally killed along Boryeong in 2014. Some whales still live in Sea of Japan and pass through Tsushima Strait. There had been congregation areas adjacent to Korean Peninsula such as in East Korea Bay and Ulleungdo, although recent occurrences into these locations are of unclear due to locational disorders. **Fin whales in Yellow Sea could have been a unique form from outer Pacific populations due to their smaller size, and breeding season was mainly in winter. *Minke whales – Still be present regularly (although very rare to observe live individuals) in Yellow and Bohai sea (resident group), Zhoushan, and in any coastal and oceanic island areas (e.g. Zhoushan, Penghu, and Parcel Archipelagos). Likely to breed in early to mid – summer, and possibly 4 major migratory routes exists within Yellow and Bohai Seas such as along
Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
Bay, Bohai Strait, and Shandong Peninsula. Off Taiwan, recent sightings and entanglements occurred along east coasts such as at San Diego, Taiwan Strait, or at Hualien. Strandings and by-catches have been in higher rates in Bohai Sea and at the islands of Haiyang and Zhangzi. *Blue and sei and Omura's whales – largely unknown. At least blues were historically known to visit into Yellow and Bohai Sea and migrate further south to Paracel Islands. One was sighted off
Weizhou Island Weizhou Island () is a Chinese island in Beibu Gulf in the Gulf of Tonkin. The largest island of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Weizhou is west of Leizhou Peninsula, south of Beihai, and east of Vietnam. Administratively, it is part of Wei ...
in 2017. **Blue whale populations in coastal northwestern Pacific likely became extinct due to heavy exploitation in 20th century along southern Japan especially on Wakayama and Shikoku and Miyazaki where the last known catches in East China Sea (
Amami Oshima The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of ...
) were in 1934. The most recent of recorded stranding on Japanese archipelago other than Ryukyu Islands were in 1950s, and only 3 blue whales have been recorded in Far Eastern Russian waters from 1994 to 2004. Gigantic whales exceeding over 20m in length have been observed in Tsushima Strait in recent years although their exact species are unknown. There was a stranding in Wanning in 2005. It is unclear whether or not those whales confirmed in Bohol Sea in recent years include any remnants of blue whales historically seen in Chinese EEZ, since it was speculated that these whales are pygmy blue whales from southern hemisphere. **Historic distributions and occurrences, and current statuses of Sei, Bryde's (offshore form) and Omura's whales in Chinese and Korean waters are unclear, but their known ranges in Chinese waters reach from mid to southern coasts facing East China Sea and Taiwan我国沿海鲸类(一)——须鲸篇(上)_科学公园_【传送门】
. Chuansong.me. Retrieved on 29 August 2016.
to South China Sea. Scientific confirmation of Omura's whales among continental waters was rather recent. Strandings of Omura's whales have been recorded only south from Zhejiang Country. Occasionally, either bryde's or omura's whales have been spotted along east Taiwanese coasts during whales watch cruises, Sightings have been along Taiwanese coasts such as nearby Hualien. and there was a case of re-floating stranded bryde's whale along Nantong in 2005.


=Toothed Whales

= *
Sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
s – the only large cetacean still being common in the nation's present waters; being one of the main targets of whale-watching industries along the east coast of Taiwan, as well as islands such as Xiaoliuqiu and the Spratly Islands. Some might appear around Hainan Islands although their current status in this region is unclear. Occasionally strands on mainland shores even in Yellow and Bohai regions. They don't appear often in mainland's near-shore waters because of their feeding partiality to prefer deep
sea canyon A submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope, sometimes extending well onto the continental shelf, having nearly vertical walls, and occasionally having canyon wall heights of up to 5 km, from ...
s. Sperm whales actually do appear in near-shore waters in some cases; at locations where deep waters approach shores, or some particular individuals or groups have learned to come to rest in shallow bays or straits or along beaches. There had been sightings of 9 whales in East China Sea off Korean Peninsula in 1999, and 8 whales off eastern Korean Peninsula in 2004. The last catches were of 5 whales off Ulsan in 1911. * Baird's beaked whales – The second largest of Odontoceti and being extreme divers after sperm whales. Next to nothing about this species' natural histories and biology in Chinese waters are clear as the species has been considered not to occur, and the locational origin of the skeletal specimen at the Zhejiang Museum of natural History is unclear. It is a question that whether this species could still be present within Chinese EEZ or not although some groups on Japanese archipelago still survive but in under serious danger by today's commercial whaling activities. Based on archeological reports, these elusive, friendly whales by nature once had been regular among Yellow/Bohai Seas region notably around Lingshan Island off Huangdao District or the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay and off
Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
at least until mid-16th century, but they were seemingly wiped out by Japanese whalers. Southern limits of their distributions in Chinese waters are unclear while a stranding or a catch was recorded in Zhoushan in 1950s. 12 whales were bycaught along eastern Korean Peninsula between 1996 and 2012. *
Longman's beaked whale The tropical bottlenose whale (''Indopacetus pacificus''), also known as the Indo-Pacific beaked whale or Longman's beaked whale, was considered to be the world's rarest cetacean until recently, but the spade-toothed whale now holds that positio ...
s and other beaked whales – Being one of newly classified and less known species, their overall distributions have been rather unclear. They are the second largest of beaked whales and third largest of toothed whales can be seen in Chinese EEZ. In Chinese waters, either live or deceased records were concentrated on east coast of Taiwan and surrounding waters including Lanyu and Green Island. Based on studies, presences of other beaked whales, being lesser known as well, have been confirmed to be common around Taiwanese waters, and Taiwan is one of fewer locations where beaked whales have been observed with higher regularities during whale watching tours. Stejneger's beaked whales are resident in Sea of Japan, and one of the most commonly recorded ziphiidae species of the Korean Peninsula although their presence within Yellow Sea is rather unclear. * Orcas – The current status of killer whales along the nation's coasts and surrounding areas is unclear. Sighting is more common along eastern Taiwanese coasts such as off Chenggong while on mainland, they do occur on almost the entire shoreline from Bohai and Yellow Sea in north to Ningbo and
Zhoushan Archipelago Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...
in east, and along the southern coasts and islands including Paracel Islands as well. There was a commercial catch on southern Taiwan in 1990s. They still occur in few numbers in Korean side of Yellow Sea or nearby such as the sightings of pairs in 2001 and 5 or 6 whales off
Wando (island) Wando is an island in Wando County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with ...
within the
Dadohaehaesang National Park Dadohaehaesang National Park () was designated in 1981 as the largest national park in South Korea. The total area is with being marine area and being land area. Main attractions of Dadohaehaesang National Park are Hongdo, Heuksando and Baek ...
in 2016. * Short-finned pilot whales – So called the "Southern Form" of the species ranges within the Chinese waters. Most of live and deceased records concentrate on eastern coasts of Taiwan. Mainland distributions are rather unclear as there had been only one stranding record in Hainan, including regularities of occurrences within Yellow Sea regions, but occasional strandings have been recorded such as at Taeanhaean National Park or
Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...
. There was a mass stranding at Nanji Islands in 2004. * False killer whales – One of few species surviving today in descent numbers on mainland coasts, but in peril; any warmer regions such as Taiwan, Nánpēng Islands, Nanji Island Marine Sanctuary, Matsu Islands, Langyatai on Huangdao District, Dongshan County, Hong Kong, Paracel Islands, and so on. **False killer whales along continental China are known to often enter and swim up large rivers in pods or large numbered schools, reaching more than 30 to 50 km, or individuals can travel further for 220 to 300 km in extreme cases. Rivers and canals in Xiangshui County such as Guanhe, Jiangsu,
Huai The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east. ...
, and
Tongyu Tongyu () is a county in the northwest of Jilin province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the south and west. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Baicheng, and has a population of 350,000 residing in an a ...
(''通榆河'') rivers have local legends of "鲸拜龙王" (''Worshiped Whale Dragon King''), telling that every spring whales gather at river mouths and swim up. In recent years, especially from earlier 2000s, false killer whales have been observed to swim up rivers rather regularly, showing dramatic recoveries and their numbers are rising up once again, up to more than 200 whales. Whales occasionally appear in Jiaozhou Bay where was once a regular range for the species until in 1980s.


Dugongs

Dugongs are marine mammals that feed entirely on vegetation such as seagrass. They are related to manatees in the Western Hemisphere, and are only sirenian species found in Asian waters. In China, dugongs are found along the coasts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where the Hepu Dugong National Nature Reserve, near Beihai, was created in 1992 for their protection, and less frequently in Hainan. Current distributions could be much more restricted than that of pre-exploitation ranges, as once might have been seen in the Yellow sea regions. They are considered regionally extinct in Taiwan. The dugong is a Class I protected species. They were hunted for their meat in the late 1950s and early 1960s during the
Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...
. Dugongs are threatened by the loss of seagrass beds from coastal development. Several areas still possess feasible habitats for dugongs today such as the Dongsha Atoll and the west coasts of Hainan and
Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...
, and Chinese government funded to establish a sanctuary designed for dugong and mangrove conservation ranging from Hepu County to Shankou in Guanxi, also to secure local
Chinese white dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...
s. Individuals distributed among the
Beibu Gulf Economic Rim The Beibu Gulf Economic Rim or Beibu Economic Belt () also known as Gulf of Tonkin Economic Belt in (Vietnamese: Vành đai kinh tế vịnh Bắc Bộ) defines the economic region or rim surrounding around China's southwestern coastal region and ci ...
in
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
face threats of busy-becoming ship-lanes and polluted waters.


Elephant

Asian elephants once roamed a large swath of China, but are now confined to the
Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင် ...
and Pu'er Prefectures of southern Yunnan. Xishuangbana means 12 elephants in the local Thai language. In recent years, Chinese demand for ivory has led to a sharp increase in elephant poaching around the world.Jacobs, Andrew (26 April 2014
"Xishuangbana Journal: In Land That Values Ivory, Wild Elephants Find a Safe Haven"
N.Y. Times
Due to strict enforcement of elephant protection laws with capital punishment for poachers and government financed feeding programs, the population of elephants within China from 1994 to 2014 roughly doubled to nearly 300.


Odd-toed ungulates


Rhino

Records and artwork from antiquity indicate that three species of Asian rhinoceros, the Indian, Javan and
Sumatran Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent is ...
, more specially the Northern Sumatran rhinoceros have lived in China. During the Shang Dynasty, some 3,000 years ago, rhinoceros ranged as far north as Inner Mongolia. By the beginning of the Han Dynasty, 2,200 years ago, they had disappeared from the Central Plains of northern China. During the Tang Dynasty, about 1,200 years ago, rhinos were found across southern China and the imperial zoo had a captive breeding program that returned some animals to the wild. Cooler climate in northern China may have caused rhinoceros habitat to shrink, but it was demand for rhino horns for use in traditional Chinese medicine, documented in as early as the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago, that drove the animal toward extinction. In the Ming Dynasty about 650 years ago, rhinoceros were confined to Yunnan and Guizhou, and by the Qing Dynasty to only Yunnan. The Qing government limited the hunting of rhinos to only officials, and some 300 horns were harvested between 1900 and 1910. The collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 allowed individuals to hunt the animal. The last Sumatran rhino was killed in 1916, the last Indian rhino in 1920 and the last Javan rhino in 1922. In 2010, a herd of nine southern white rhinoceros were imported from South Africa and shipped to Yunnan, where they were kept in a wild animal park for acclimation. In March 2013, seven of the animals were shipped to the Laiyanghe National Forest Park, a habitat where Asian rhinoceros once lived. Two of the African rhinos began the process of being released into the wild on 13 May 2014.


Horses and wild asses

The Przewalski's horse, the only species of wild horses never to have been domesticated, once roamed free in large parts of northwestern China but became locally extinct in 1957. In the 1980s, herds from Europe have been introduced to habitats in Xinjiang and Gansu. The other
odd-toed ungulates Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) ...
in China are the Mongolian wild ass and the Tibetan wild ass (kiang). The former is endangered while the latter is not. Both are Class I protected species.


Even-toed ungulates


Deer

China has a great variety of
true deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
and its close kin the
musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their fa ...
. The largest deer species, the
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
(known as the moose in North America), is found in the Greater and Lesser Khingan ranges of the northeast. The moose stands at 2 m tall and weighs as much 700 kg. In contrast, the
lesser mouse-deer The lesser mouse-deer, lesser Malay chevrotain, or kanchil (''Tragulus kanchil'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae. Distribution The lesser mouse-deer is found widely across Southeast Asia in Indochina, Myanmar (Kra I ...
of Yunnan, which is just 45 cm in height and weighs 2 kg, is not much bigger than a rabbit. China also contains the closely related
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
and red deer, the second and fourth largest deer species, which until 2004 were considered the same species. The elk (also known as wapiti) has four subspecies in Asia – the
Altai wapiti The Altai wapiti, sometimes called the Altai elk, is a subspecies of ''Cervus canadensis'' found in the forest hills of southern Siberia, northwestern Mongolia, and northern Xinjiang province of China. It is different from the Tian Shan wapiti in ...
,
Tian Shan wapiti The Tian Shan wapiti or Tian Shan maral (''Cervus canadensis songaricus''), is a subspecies of ''C. canadensis''. It is also called the Tian Shan elk in North American English. Description It is native to the Tian Shan Mountains in eastern Ky ...
, Manchurian wapiti and Alashan wapiti – all of which are present in China. The red deer, though quite common in Europe, has subspecies in China that are endangered. The red deer are the deer that have been most important to human societies. The Yarkand deer lives along the Tarim River in Xinjiang south of the Tian Shan. The Bactrian deer lives north of the Tian Shan in northern Xinjiang and Central Asian Republics. The Tibetan red deer, Kansu red deer, Gansu red deer, Sichuan deer have been alternatively categorized as subspecies of the elk or the Central Asian red deer. The sambar deer, the third largest deer species, is found throughout southern China, and on the islands of Hainan and Taiwan. They live near water and are called "water deer" in Chinese. They are not to be confused with the Chinese water deer, a smaller deer which are found in the Yangtze Delta region. The water deer is the only species of
true deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
without antlers. Water deer, tufted deer and muntjacs are small deer with long upper canines that protrude like tusks. Muntjacs are known for their soft hide and tender meat. The Indian muntjac is found throughout southern China. The range of the Reeve's muntjac extends north to Gansu and to Taiwan. Fea's muntjac are found in eastern Tibet and the Gongshan muntjac in neighboring Yunnan. The hairy-fronted muntjac is endemic to the mountains at the juncture of Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian and is a protected species. The tufted deer, a close relative of the muntjac, is found throughout central China. Deer is prized in China for the velvet of their antlers. Antler velvet is rich in growth hormone and is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The most valuable antler velvet comes from the sika deer which is raised on farms. Several subspecies of the sika deer, including the Shanxi sika deer, Shanxi sika and the North China sika deer, North China sika may have become extinct in the wild and survive exclusively in captivity. The Sichuan sika deer, another subspecies, was discovered in 1978 and lives in mountains of northern Sichuan and southern Gansu. The Formosan sika deer is endemic to Taiwan. Reindeer, which are found in the forests of the Greater Khingan range in northern Inner Mongolia, are domesticated by the ethnic Evenks, Ewenki and Oroqen people, Oroqen people. The Oroqen call themselves, "people who use the reindeer." One branch of the Ewenki rely on reindeer to haul goods through swampy forests. They use reindeer milk and meat for nourishment, hides for clothing and tents, and antlers for medicine and income. The Kyrgyz people, who now reside in Central Asia and western Xinjiang, used to live in northeast Asia and regard the sika deer as a holy animal. According to Kyrgyz legend, the Kyrgyz Bugu tribe descended from a mother deer. The sika deer is protected as a List of endangered and protected species of China, Class I endangered species by the state, though it is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as least concern. Another Class I protected deer is the Thorold's deer, Thorold's or white-lipped deer. This large deer with a population of about 15,000 that is endemic to Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan, is considered Vulnerable species, vulnerable by the IUCN. The Chinese population of Eld's deer, a Class I protected species that is also considered Endangered species, endangered by IUCN, is found only on the island of Hainan. For decades, the Indochinese hog deer was believed to be extinct in China until a fawn was discovered in 2007 in the Yongde County, Yongde Daxueshan National Wildlife Reserve. The Indochinese hog deer is also protected by the state. Perhaps the most remarkable endangered deer species in China is Père David's deer. This deer, colloquially known as the ''sibuxiang'' or the "Four-Not-Look-Alike", is said to have the hooves of an ox, antlers of a deer, neck of a camel and tail of a donkey, but does not look like any one animal. According to Chinese legend, this animal helped the ancient sage Jiang Ziya overthrow the King Zhou of Shang, tyrant king of the Shang Dynasty 4,000 years ago and became a symbol of good fortune. Chinese emperors kept the ''sibuxiang'' also called ''milu'' in imperial hunting parks, even as the animal became extinct in the wild, perhaps as early as 2,000 years ago. By 1866, when Father Armand David identified the animal, there were only 200–300 remaining in the Milu Yuan, Nanhaizi Royal Park in Beijing. A few animals were sold to zoos in Europe before 1894, when the park was flooded and some of the animals escaped only to be hunted and eaten. The last of the animals in China died during the chaos of the Boxer Rebellion. In 1898, Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford assembled a herd of 18 animals from European zoos and bred them at his estate, Woburn Abbey in England. In 1985, 22 deer from this herd was reintroduced back to the Nanhaizi Park in Beijing and in 1986 another 39 were sent to Dafeng, in northern Jiangsu on the Yellow Sea. In 1998, eight animals in the latter herd were introduced into wilderness of the Dafeng Milu National Wildlife Reserve. By 2013, the reserve had 196 Père David's deer. The Siberian roe deer, once plentiful in the Northeast and favored as game meat, has also become a protected species. Hunting of roe deer was banned in 2000. Musk deer and mouse-deer resemble small deer but are not
true deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
. They do not have antlers or facial scent glands. Male musk deer have scent glands that secrete deer musk, which is used for perfume, incense and medicine. Of the seven musk deer species in the world, six are found in China and five are endangered: the Anhui musk deer and dwarf musk deer of central China, the alpine musk deer of western China, the white-bellied musk deer and black musk deer of Tibet. The Siberian musk deer in the northeast is considered vulnerable. The lesser mouse-deer is found in southern Yunnan.


Antelope

The grasslands, plateau and deserts of northern and western China are home to several species of antelope. The Mongolian gazelle, also known as the Zeren or yellow sheep, can run at speeds of up to 90 km/h and gather in herds by the thousands. They used to be spread over much of northern China but are now confined largely to Inner Mongolia. The Tibetan gazelle or goa antelope, is slightly smaller than the Mongolian gazelle, and lives on the Tibetan Plateau. The Przewalski's gazelle, whose males have distinctive horns that curl outward and then inward at the top, are extremely rare and endemic to a small region around Qinghai Lake on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The goitered gazelle is about the same size as the Mongolian gazelle and is found throughout the Gobi Desert. The Tibetan antelope, also known as chiru, is taller than the gazelles and has longer horns. It is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and is endangered. The animal is poached for its fine wool, which is made by Kashmiri people, Kashmiri weavers into the Shahtoosh shawl. The film ''Kekexili: Mountain Patrol'' documents efforts to protect the animal from poaching. The Tibetan antelope was one of the Fuwa, mascots for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The saiga antelope's horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of ailments including the common cold. Despite its status as a Class I protected species, the saiga antelope has been poached to extinction in the Dzungaria, Dzungar Basin of northern Xinjiang and is critically endangered in Central Asia and Russia. Chinese police routinely interdict large batches of smuggled horns into Xinjiang. Attempts have been made to reintroduce the saiga antelope to habitats in China.


Goat antelopes

Serows, gorals, and the takin are called antelope by the Chinese, and goat antelope by western taxonomists. The largest of these goat antelope is the takin, a relative of the musk ox. It lives in highlands from the eastern foothills of the Himalayas to the Qinling and shares habitat with the giant panda in Sichuan and Shaanxi. The takin is a Class I protected species. Serows are smaller than takins but significantly larger than gorals. Both serows and gorals live in rainy mountainous regions and are excellent climbers. Serows have shorter and coarser wool than gorals. The mainland serow is spread across southern China. The range of the Chinese goral is even broader, extending to Korea in the northeast. The long-tailed goral lives in the northeast, along the borders with Russia and North Korea. The Himalayan serow, Himalayan goral, and red goral are found in southern Tibet. The Taiwan serow is endemic to Taiwan.


Mountain sheep and goat

The argali or mountain sheep, the Asian cousin of the North American bighorn sheep has nine subspecies, seven of which are found in northern and western China, including the Marco Polo sheep, which the Marco Polo, Venetian traveler reported observing in the Pamir mountains. The Bharal, Himalayan blue sheep, with much smaller horns than the argali, are agile climbers on Himalayan cliffs. The dwarf blue sheep is found in western Sichuan. The Himalayan tahr, discovered in China in 1974, is a Class I protected species with perhaps only 500 animals in southern Tibet. The Siberian ibex, the largest and heaviest goat, is found in the Tian Shan range of Xinjiang.


Cattle, camel, pig

There are large numbers of domesticated gaur, yak and Bactrian camel in China but in the wild, they are Class I protected species. The gaur or Indian bison is the tallest species of cattle and found in southern Tibet and Yunnan. Domesticated gaur, called gayal, is raised by farmers in Yunnan. Yaks are the largest animals on the Tibetan Plateau. Wild yaks are larger than domestic yaks and slightly smaller than the gaur. They can tolerate extremely cold climate, climb steep slopes, and ford fierce rapids. Yaks are the imost important animal for Tibetan herders, who eat yak meat and milk for food, burn yak dung as fuel, spin yak hair into fabric, make yak hide leather and use yaks to transport and plow fields. Bactrian camels have two humps and can go a month or longer without drinking water. A thirsty Bactrian camel can drink 135 liters (30 gallons) in only 13 minutes. They can withstand extremely hot and cold weather and have broad hooves that do not sink in desert. Bactrian camels are known as the "boats of desert" – for millennia, they were used to carry goods along the Silk Road. Wild camels are critically endangered and found in the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts. The wild boar, from which the domestic pig, farm-raised pigs was domesticated some 8,000 years ago in China, remains common in the Chinese wilderness. On occasion, boars will interbreed with farm-raised pigs. The Manchurian wild boar is the largest of the wild boar species. The Formosan wild boar is a subspecies endemic to Taiwan.


Pangolin

The pangolin, a scaly anteater that feed on ants and termites and curl into a ball when threatened, is prized in China for its flesh, which is considered a delicacy and scales, which used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat among other ailments, inadequate lactation in breast-feeding mothers. The Chinese pangolin is found throughout southern China, Hainan and Taiwan and the Sunda pangolin in western Yunnan. In Chinese, the pangolin is called "that which wears mountain armor" and the animal is believed by local shamans to hold magical powers such that hunters must utter incantation before killing them to ward off bad luck. As a Class II protected species, trading of wild pangolins is prohibited, but poaching and illegal trade remains rampant. The pangolin can be farm-raised, but pangolin farms must generally also raise termites to feed the livestock. In recent years, Chinese customs have intercepted large shipments of pangolin from Southeast Asia and Africa.


Rodents


Porcupine

The porcupine, called ''haozhu'' or "pig with long thin hair" in Chinese, should not be confused with hedgehog, ''ciwei'' or the "thorned creature". Porcupines are rodents and hedgehogs belong to a Erinaceidae, separate order. Three species of Old World porcupine are found in China: the Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine, Indian crested porcupine, and Malayan porcupine. Many parts of the porcupine including the brain, organs, fat, quills and even the feces can be used to make traditional Chinese medicine. Porcupines are raised on farms.


Beaver

In the early 20th century, the Eurasian beaver was hunted to near extinction for its fur and castoreum, a scent gland secretion used to make perfume and medicine. Though the global population has rebounded, the animal remains a Class I protected species. The Bulgan Beaver Nature Reserve in Qinggil County of northern Xinjiang, at the source of the Irtysh River, Irtysh and Ulungur River along the border with Mongolia, was created in 1980 to protect the beaver. In 2007, there were 145 beaver colonies with an estimated population of 500–600 beavers in the reserve.


Squirrels

Squirrels are called ''songshu'' or "pine rodent" in Chinese but not all species live in trees. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, flying squirrels, ground squirrels, rock squirrels, marmots and chipmunks, which are all found in China, often in great variety. The red squirrel common in Europe and the black giant squirrel of Southeast Asia are found, respectively, in the northern and southern parts of China. Other tree squirrel species include the Pallas's squirrel, Pallas's, Inornate squirrel, inornate, Phayre's squirrel, Phayre's, Irrawaddy squirrel, Irrawaddy, Anderson's squirrel, Anderson's, orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel, orange-bellied Himalayan, Perny's long-nosed squirrel, Perny's long-nosed, red-hipped squirrel, red-hipped, Asian red-cheeked squirrel, Asian red-cheeked, Himalayan striped squirrel, Himalayan striped, Maritime striped squirrel, Maritime striped, and Swinhoe's striped squirrel. Flying squirrels are found in almost every part of China, from the Himalayas to the tropical island of Hainan to the rural outskirts of Beijing. Flying squirrel species include the groove-toothed flying squirrel, groove-toothed, complex-toothed flying squirrel, complex-toothed, hairy-footed flying squirrel, hairy-footed, Particolored flying squirrel, particolored, Indochinese flying squirrel, Indochinese, Red giant flying squirrel, red giant, Red and white giant flying squirrel, red and white giant, spotted giant flying squirrel, spotted giant, Indian giant flying squirrel, Indian giant, Chinese giant flying squirrel, Chinese giant, Japanese giant flying squirrel, Japanese giant, Bhutan giant flying squirrel, Bhutan giant, Siberian flying squirrel, Siberian, Yunnan giant (''petaurista yunnanensis''), and Hodgson's giant flying squirrel, Hodgson's giant. Several are endemic to China. Flying squirrels are timid creatures that are active at nighttime and use the patagium, a membrane connecting the fore and hind limbs to glide from trees. They do not build nests and live in caves or rock crevices. They also defecate at specific locations, which facilitates the harvest of their fecal pellets. The pellets are made into ''wulingzhi'', a traditional Chinese medicine used to facilitate blood flow and ease pain. Flying squirrel pellets can accumulate on the floor of caves for years and not rot. Several species of flying squirrels are farm-raised to produce ''wulingzhi''. The groove-toothed flying squirrel, also known as the North Chinese flying squirrel, is endemic to eastern Hebei Province and the suburbs of Beijing in North China and northern Sichuan. The complex-toothed flying squirrel is endemic to southern China. Ground squirrels, rock squirrels, marmots and chipmunks belong to the same tribe within the squirrel family. In China, ground squirrels are found in arid regions of the north and west where the animals live in burrels. Ground squirrel species include the Alashan ground squirrel, Alashan, Daurian ground squirrel, Daurian, Red-cheeked ground squirrel, red-cheeked, Long-tailed ground squirrel, long-tailed and yellow ground squirrel. Two species of rock squirrels are endemic to China, the Père David's rock squirrel, which is found across a wide swath of the country from the mountains around Beijing to Gansu and Sichuan, and the Forrest's rock squirrel, found only in the mountains dividing the Yangtze River, Yangtze and Mekong River watershed in northwestern Yunnan. The Siberian chipmunk, the only chipmunk species found outside North America, has six subspecies in China, all in northern parts of the country. The animal is raised as pets and for its tender flesh, fine fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine. The marmot, called ''hanta'' in Chinese for "land" or "dry otter," is related to ground squirrels but are bigger, have shorter tails and are more social animals. They can grow to be the size of a cat and live in large colonies. Four species are found in China, all along the northern and western periphery of the country: gray marmot, gray, Long-tailed marmot, long-tailed, Himalayan marmot, Himalayan, and tarbagan marmot, Tarbagan. Of these, the tarbagan marmot is an endangered, Class III protected species. Marmots are also farm-raised for food and fur. File:Marmota sibirica - (Russia, Mongolia) - Rochers-de-Naye, Switzerland, 2009.JPG, Tarbagan marmot File:Himalayan Marmot at Tshophu Lake Bhutan 091007 b.jpg, Himalayan marmot File:Marmota baibacina.jpg, Gray marmot


Jumping rodents

A wide variety of jumping rodents belonging to the family ''Dipodidae'' can be found in China. These include jerboas and jumping mice, called ''tiaoshu'', the "jumping rodent," and the birch mouse, called ''jueshu'', the "falling rodent" or "stomping rodent." Jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice all have long hind legs which can be used to make leaps from a bipedal stance.


Zokors, bamboo rats

Zokors and bamboo rats are chubby and furry rodents with short limbs that burrow underground. Zokors have strong front limbs for digging. Zokor bones are used in traditional Chinese medicine and can substitute tiger bones. The Chinese zokor, Rothschild's zokor and Smith's zokor are endemic to China. The range of the Chinese zokor extends across north China from Qinghai to Beijing while that of the Rothschild's and Smith's zokors are confined to Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei and Qinghai. The false zokor and Transbaikal zokor are found along China's border region with Russia and Mongolia. All four bamboo rat species in the world are found in China: the Chinese bamboo rat south of the Yangtze, hoary bamboo rat in southwest China, large bamboo rat in
Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင် ...
in southern Yunnan and lesser bamboo rat and western Yunnan. The large bamboo rat can weigh as much as 5 kg. The flesh of the bamboo rat is rich in protein and low in fat. Bamboo rat oil can be used to treat burn wounds. Both the zokor and bamboo rat are farm-raised for their fur, meat and use in medicine.


Hamsters, lemmings, voles

About half of the world's 25 species of hamsters are found in China. Most live in the deserts of Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. Some are named after the specific region in which they are found, such as the Chinese hamster, Chinese, Mongolian hamster, Mongolian, Gansu hamster, Gansu, Chinese striped hamster, Chinese striped, Tibetan dwarf hamster, Tibetan dwarf, Kam dwarf hamster, Kham dwarf, and Djungarian hamster, and some by their founder, such as Campbell's dwarf hamster, Campbell's dwarf, Roborovski hamster, Roborovski, and Sokolov's dwarf hamster, Sokolov's dwarf. Others include the grey dwarf hamster, grey dwarf, long-tailed dwarf hamster, long-tailed dwarf, greater long-tailed hamster and black-bellied hamster. The Chinese hamster and Roborovski hamster have been bred as pets and found in homes throughout the world.*Eurasian water vole (''Arvicola amphibius'')


Mice and rats

*Brown rat *Chinese dormouse (''Chaetocauda sichuanensis'') *Sichuan niviventer (''Niviventer excelsior'') *Yunnan hadromys (''Hadromys yunnanensis'')


Gerbils

*Great gerbil (''Rhombomys opimus'')


Shrew moles

*Chinese mole shrew (''Anourosorex squamipes'')


Pikas

*Glover's pika (''Ochotona gloveri'')


Moles

*Large mole (''Mogera robusta'')


Gymnures

*Short-tailed gymnure (''Hylomys suillus'')


Treeshrews

*Northern treeshrew (''Tupaia belangeri'')


Hedgehogs

The Amur hedgehog (''Erinaceus amurensis'') hails from Manchuria, China.


Hares

*Chinese hare (''Lepus sinensis'') *Hainan hare *Manchurian hare


Bats

Bats, the only mammals capable of sustained flight, are the second largest order of mammals after rodents. They are divided broadly into microbats, which use Animal echolocation, echolocation to navigate and hunt insects, and megabats, which rely on large eyes and keen smell to feed on fruits and nectar. Bats are found in great abundance and variety throughout China and are considered to be auspicious animals, symbolizing good fortune. Bat feces collected from caves are used in traditional Chinese medicine.


Megabats

Megabats, also called fruit bats, include flying foxes, which are the largest bat species. Four species are found in China, all in isolated populations: the large flying fox in Shaanxi, Indian flying fox in Qinghai, Ryukyu flying fox in Taiwan, and Lyle's flying fox in Yunnan. The large flying fox can weigh and has a wingspan of up to . Geoffroy's rousette and Leschenault's rousette, both dog-faced fruit bats, are the only megabats in China that can echolocate. Unlike microbats, which generate ultrasound with their larynx, rousettes generate sonar sound waves with tongue clicks. Other fruit bat species include the Greater short-nosed fruit bat, greater and lesser short-nosed fruit bat, Blanford's fruit bat and the cave nectar bat. Fruit bats are sometimes considered pests by fruit farmers, and are hunted and eaten in parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. They also help pollinate certain species of tropical fruit trees.


Microbats


=Vesper bats

= Vesper bat, Vesper or evening bats comprise the largest family of bats with at least 45 species in China. Members include myotis, mouse-eared bats, long-eared bats, pipistrelles, noctules and barbastelles. Mouse-eared bat, ''Myotis'' or mouse-eared bats are delicate and furry bats with pointed ears. Of the 90 or so species in the world, about one-fifth are found in China. The lesser mouse-eared bat, pond bat, Daubenton's bat, Natterer's bat and whiskered bat are spread across Eurasia. Others inhabit either the warmer climes of southern China and Southeast Asia including the large myotis, Szechwan myotis, Burmese whiskered bat and Horsfield's bat or the temperate regions of northern China and Northeast Asia including the Far Eastern myotis, fraternal myotis, and Ikonnikov's bat. Hodgson's bat, known for its distinctive golden fur, has unconnected populations in Afghanistan, India, central China, southeastern China, Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia. The Beijing mouse-eared bat is endemic to eastern China, and the Myotis fimbriatus, long-footed myotis is endemic to southern China and Hong Kong. Most mouse-eared bats are insectivores. Rickett's big-footed bat, which is distributed across China Proper into Laos, lives near water and feeds on fish. The large-footed bat of Taiwan hunts insects on the surface of the water. Pipistrels and their relatives are tiny bats that flutter like butterflies in flight. The common pipistrelle weighs only and has a wingspan ranging of . Other pipistrelles found in China include the least pipistrelle, Kelaart's pipistrelle, Kelaart's, Mount Popa pipistrelle, Mount Popa, Savi's pipistrelle, Savi's, Chocolate pipistrelle, chocolate Black-gilded pipistrelle, black-gilded and the Chinese pipistrelle. In Chinese, pipistrelles are called ''fuyi'' meaning "hidden wing." The flesh, blood, brain and feces of pipistrelle can be used to make traditional Chinese medicine. The brain is applied to the skin to treat acne and ingested to improve memory. Noctules are closely related to pipistrelles but can be much larger in size. The Chinese noctule, which is endemic to the southern half of the country and Taiwan, weighs three to four times as much as the Chinese pipistrelle. Known as "mountain bats" in Chinese, noctules live in caves and rock croppings as well as the under the eaves of traditional homes. Noctules droppings are collected for medicinal uses. Other noctule bats in China include the common noctule, lesser noctule, and birdlike noctule. Barbastelles are called wide-eared bats in Chinese. The range of the Asian barbastelle extends from Egypt through China to Japan. In 2001, a Chinese zoologist discovered a new species of barbastelle in the mountains of rural Beijing. This bat was discovered in a cave in Fangshan District where four other bat species—Rickett's big-foot, large mouse-eared, greater horseshoe bat, greater horseshoe and greater tube-nosed bats also live.(Chinese
Ma Jie, Walter Metzner, Liang Bing et al. "同地共栖四种蝙蝠食性和回声定位信号的差异及其生态位分化" ''Acta Zoologica Sinica'' 50(2):145–150, 2004
/ref> The Beijing barbastelle (''Barbastella beijingensis'') was distinguished by the distinctiveness of its DNA and recognized as a species on 23 May 2007, the 300th birthday of Carl Linnaeus. As of 2012, no other populations of this species have been found beyond Beijing. Long-eared bats have enormous ears that can grow almost as long as their bodies, and are represented in China by multiple species (e.g. ''Plecotus kozlovi'', ''Plecotus ognevi''...). The Greater bamboo bat, greater and lesser bamboo bats prefer to roost inside the hollow shoots of giant bamboo through holes eaten by beetles. Because the holes are small, bamboo bats are also tiny. An adult lesser bamboo bat that measures in length and weighs , is not much bigger than a bumble bee. House bats including the Gobi big brown bat, northern bat, thick-eared bat, serotine bat are also closely related to pipistrelles, noctules and barbastelles. Other relatives within Vespertilioninae, this extensive subfamily include Tickell's bat, great evening bat, harlequin bat, greater Asiatic yellow bat, particoloured bat and Asian particolored bat. Murininae, Tube-nosed bats have longer nostrils than other vespers and funnel-shaped ears. Chinese species include the greater tube-nosed bat, greater, little tube-nosed bat, little, Round-eared tube-nosed bat, round-eared, Hutton's tube-nosed bat, Hutton's, and dusky tube-nosed bat. The dusky tube-nosed bat is endemic to Heilongjiang and Jilin in northeastern China. The greater tube-nosed bat of Beijing feeds on aerial beetles. The painted bat and Hardwicke's woolly bat, also vesper bats, live in the forests of southern China.


=Long-winged bats

= Miniopterus, Long-winged bats in China include the Common bent-wing bat, common and western bent-winged bats. The common bent-wing bats can form large colonies and migrate hundreds of kilometers.


=Free-tailed bats

= Molossidae, Free-tailed bats, unlike other bats, have tails that are detached from their wing membrances. Species include the European free-tailed bat, La Touche's free-tailed bat and the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat.


=False vampire

= The greater false vampire bat of Guangxi is a carnivorous bat that feeds on rodents, fish, insects and smaller bats. It is smaller than the Spectral bat, "true" vampire bats of South America.


=Sac-winged bats

= Sac-winged bats have sac-like glands under their wings that carry pheromones, which are released to attract mates. Out of some 51 sac-winged bat species in the world, only the black-bearded tomb bat is found in China.


=Horseshoe bats

= Horseshoe bats are called "chrysanthemum bats" in Chinese because they have horseshoe-shaped folds of skin that unfurl on their faces like the petals of a flower. These noseleaves help the horseshoe bat emit ultrasonic signals for echolocation. Species found in China include the greater horseshoe bat, greater, least horseshoe bat, least, king horseshoe bat, king, Big-eared horseshoe bat, big-eared, rufous horseshoe bat, rufous, Chinese rufous horseshoe bat, Chinese rufous, little Japanese horseshoe bat, little Japanese, Blyth's horseshoe bat, Blyth's, Osgood's horseshoe bat, Osgood's, Pearson's horseshoe bat, Pearson's, Thomas's horseshoe bat, Thomas's, and Dobson's horseshoe bat, Dobson's. The king and Osgood's horseshoe bats are endemic to southwest China. Scientists believe that the SARS coronavirus may have originated in horseshoe bats in China. Closely related to the horseshoe bats are the Hipposideros, roundleaf bats, including the great roundleaf bat, great roundleaf, Intermediate roundleaf bat, intermediate roundleaf, Pomona roundleaf bat, Pomona and Pratt's roundleaf bat, Pratt's, the East Asian tailless leaf-nosed bat and Stoliczka's trident bat.


Birds

The avifauna of China includes a total of 1314 species, of which 52 are Endemism in birds, endemic, two have been Introduced species, introduced by humans, and 55 are rare or accidental. One species listed is Local extinction, extirpated in China and is not included in the species count. Eighty seven species are globally threatened.


Pheasants

*Chinese monal *Golden pheasant


Cranes and other wading birds

* Black-necked crane *Red-crowned crane *Common spoonbill


Reptiles

China has a big variety of reptiles including the Chinese alligator and the Yangtze giant softshell turtle.


Crocodilians

*Chinese alligator (''Alligator sinensis'')


Lizards

*Chinese crocodile lizard (''Shinisaurus crocodilurus'') *Chinese water dragon (''Physignathus cocincinus'')


Turtles and tortoises

*Elongated tortoise (''Indotestudo elongata'') *Cantor's giant softshell turtle (''Pelochelys cantorii'') *Yangtze giant softshell turtle (''Rafetus swinhoei'')


Snakes

*Sharp-nosed pit viper (''Deinagkistrodon acutus'') *Dice snake (''Natrix tessellata'') *Elaphe bimaculata, Twin-spotted ratsnake (''Elaphe bimaculata'') *Mamushi (''Gloydius blomhoffii'') *Grass snake (''Natrix natrix'') *Mountain pitviper (''Ovophis monticola'') *Jerdon's pit viper (''Protobothrops jerdonii'') *Bamboo pit viper (''Trimeresurus gramineus'') *Mangshan pitviper (''Trimeresurus mangshanensis'') *Motuo bamboo pitviper (''Trimeresurus medoensis'') *Stejneger's pit viper (''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'')


Amphibians

China is home to 346 species of amphibian. China's amphibian diversity is greater than any other country in the Old World, and it is the 5th in the whole world. China's amphibian fauna includes an important element of widespread, generally non-threatened species though 27.3% of amphibian species are extinct or threatened and because conservation assessments of Chinese amphibians have only started recently, it is likely that the current data on threats to amphibians are insufficient. Several amphibian species in China have very limited geographical distributions.


Frogs


True Frogs (Ranidae)

*Amolops aniqiaoensis *Amolops bellulus *Amolops chunganensis *Amolops gerbillus *Amolops granulosus *Amolops hainanensis *Amolops jinjiangensis *Amolops kangtingensis *Amolops liangshanensis *Amolops lifanensis *Amolops loloensis *Amolops mantzorum *Amolops medogensis *Amolops monticola *Amolops ricketti *Amolops torrentis *Amolops viridimaculatus *Amolops wuyiensis *Babina adenopleura *Babina hainanensis *Babina lini *Babina pleuraden *Chevron-spotted brown frog *Eastern golden frog *Emei music frog *Glandirana minima *Glandirana tientaiensis *Huanren frog *Imienpo Station frog *Johns' groove-toed frog *Korean brown frog *Odorrana andersonii *Odorrana anlungensis *Odorrana chapaensis *Odorrana chloronota *Odorrana exiliversabilis *Odorrana grahami *Odorrana graminea *Odorrana hejiangensis *Odorrana kuangwuensis *Odorrana lungshengensis *Odorrana margaretae *Odorrana mutschmanni *Odorrana schmackeri *Odorrana tiannanensis *Odorrana versabilis *Odorrana wuchuanensis *Pelophylax fukienensis *Pelophylax hubeiensis *Pelophylax lateralis *Pelophylax nigromaculatus *Pelophylax tenggerensis *Pelophylax terentievi *Plateau brown frog *Rana amurensis *Rana chensinensis *Rana omeimontis *Rana sangzhiensis *Rana weiningensis *Rana zhengi


Dicroglossidae

*Chinese edible frog *Concave-eared torrent frog *Doichang frog *Fejervarya limnocharis *Fejervarya moodiei *Fejervarya multistriata *Limnonectes longchuanensis *Nanorana arnoldi *Nanorana blanfordii *Nanorana bourreti *Nanorana conaensis *Nanorana feae *Nanorana liebigii *Nanorana maculosa *Nanorana medogensis *Nanorana pleskei *Nanorana polunini *Nanorana quadranus *Nanorana taihangnica *Nanorana unculuanus *Nanorana ventripunctata *Nanorana yunnanensis *Northern frog *Kuhl's creek frog *Quasipaa verrucospinosa *Quasipaa boulengeri *Quasipaa exilispinosa *Quasipaa jiulongensis *Quasipaa shini *Quasipaa spinosa *Quasipaa yei *Round-tongued floating frog


Ceratobatrachidae

*Liurana


Tree Frogs

*Annam tree frog *Common Chinese tree frog *Hyla sanchiangensis *''Hyla zhaopingensis'': only in Zhaoping County, Guangxi *Hylarana cubitalis *Hylarana hekouensis *Hylarana latouchii *Hylarana macrodactyla *Hylarana maosonensis *Hylarana menglaensis *Hylarana milleti *Hylarana nigrovittata * Hylarana spinulosa * Hylarana taipehensis *Japanese tree frog *Chinese flying frog *Chiromantis vittatus *Feihyla palpebralis *Gracixalus gracilipes *Gracixalus jinxiuensis *Gracixalus medogensis *Gracixalus nonggangensis *Kurixalus naso *Kurixalus odontotarsus *Kurixalus verrucosus *Raorchestes longchuanensis *Raorchestes menglaensis *Rhacophorus burmanus *Rhacophorus chenfui *Rhacophorus dorsoviridis *Rhacophorus dugritei *Rhacophorus feae *Rhacophorus hui *Rhacophorus hungfuensis *Rhacophorus kio *Rhacophorus maximus *Rhacophorus nigropunctatus *Rhacophorus omeimontis *Rhacophorus puerensis *Rhacophorus rhodopus *Rhacophorus tuberculatus *Rhacophorus yaoshanensis *Romer's tree frog *Sylvirana guentheri


Microhylidae

*Calluella yunnanensis *Boreal digging frog *''Kalophrynus interlineatus'' *Kalophrynus menglienicus *Kaloula nonggangensis *Kaloula rugifera *Kaloula verrucosa *Microhyla berdmorei *Microhyla fissipes *Microhyla heymonsi *Microhyla pulchra *Micryletta inornata *''Painted chorus frog, Microhyla butleri''


Litter Frogs

*Brachytarsophrys carinense *Brachytarsophrys feae *Brachytarsophrys popei *Buergeria oxycephala *Leptolalax alpinus *Leptolalax liui *Leptolalax oshanensis *Leptolalax sungi *Leptolalax tengchongensis *Leptolalax ventripunctatus *Megophrys binchuanensis *Megophrys brachykolos *Megophrys cheni *Megophrys huangshanensis *Megophrys lini *Megophrys major *Megophrys parva *Megophrys sangzhiensis *Megophrys shuichengensis *Megophrys wawuensis *Oreolalax chuanbeiensis *Oreolalax granulosus *Oreolalax jingdongensis *Oreolalax liangbeiensis *Oreolalax lichuanensis *Oreolalax major *Oreolalax multipunctatus *Oreolalax nanjiangensis: only in Nanjiang County, Sichuan *Oreolalax omeimontis *Oreolalax pingii *Oreolalax popei *Oreolalax puxiongensis *Oreolalax rhodostigmatus *Oreolalax rugosus *Oreolalax schmidti *Oreolalax weigoldi *Oreolalax xiangchengensis *Scutiger boulengeri *Scutiger brevipes *Scutiger chintingensis *Scutiger glandulatus *Scutiger gongshanensis *Scutiger jiulongensis *Scutiger liupanensis *Scutiger maculatus *Scutiger mammatus *''Scutiger muliensis'': only in Mili Tibetan Autonomous County, Muli, Sichuan *Scutiger ningshanensis *Scutiger nyingchiensis *Scutiger pingwuensis *Scutiger sikimmensis *Scutiger tuberculatus *Scutiger wanglangensis


Shrub Frogs (Rhacophoridae)

*Liuixalus hainanus *Liuixalus ocellatus *''Theloderma kwangsiense'': only in Dayaoshan Nature Reserve (大瑶山自然保护区), Guangxi *Philautus kempii *Polypedates impresus *Polypedates megacephalus *Polypedates mutus *Theloderma asperum *Theloderma kwangsiense *Theloderma moloch *Theloderma rhododiscus


Salt Water Frogs

China is home to one of only 144 known modern amphibians which can tolerate brief excursions into sea water. *Crab-eating frog


Toads


True Toads (Bufo)

*Ailao toad *Asiatic toad *Bufo cryptotympanicus *Bufo pageoti *Bufo tuberculatus *''Bufo wolongensis'': only in Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan *Korean water toad *Pseudepidalea pewzowi


Horned Toads (Xenophrys)

*Convex-tailed horned toad *Convex-vented horned toad *Great piebald horned toad *Jingdong horned toad *Kuatun horned toad *Mangshan horned toad *Medog horned toad *Mount Dawei horned toad *Nankiang horned toad *Boettger's horned toad * Glandular horned toad *Omei horned toad *''Xenophrys daweimontis'': only in Daweishan Nature Reserve (大围山自然保护区), Liuyang, Hunan *spiny-fingered horned toad *Wuliangshan horned toad *Wushan horned toad *Zhang's horned toad


Other Toads

*Mongolian toad *Bombina maxima *Duttaphrynus himalayanus *Duttaphrynus melanostictus *Leptobrachium ailaonicum *Leptobrachium boringii *Leptobrachium hainanense *Leptobrachium leishanense *Leptobrachium liui *Little horned toad *Ophryophryne microstoma *Ophryophryne pachyproctus *Oriental fire-bellied toad *rough-skinned horned toad *Shaping horned toad *spiny-fingered horned toad


Salamanders and Newts

* Amji's salamander * Black knobby newt * Central Asian salamander * Chenggong fire belly newt * Chiala mountain salamander *Chinese giant salamander (''Andrias davidianus'') *Chinese fire belly newt * Chinese warty newt * Chinhai spiny newt * Chuxiong fire-bellied newt *Siberian salamander *''Cynops wolterstorffi'': only in Kunming City, Yunnan * Dayang newt * Fischer's clawed salamander * Fuding fire belly newt * Guabang Shan salamander * Guangxi warty newt * Guizhou salamander *Hainan knobby newt *Hong Kong warty newt *Jinfo Mountain salamander *Korean salamander *Kuankuoshui salamander *Pachyhynobius shangchengensis *Paramesotriton labiatus *Paramesotriton maolanensis *Paramesotriton yunwuensis *Puxiong salamander *Shuicheng salamander *Siberian salamander *Spot-tailed warty newt *Spotted paddle-tail newt *Taliang knobby newt *Wanggao warty newt *Wenxian knobby newt *Western Chinese mountain salamander *Xingan salamander *Yellow-spotted salamander *Yiwu salamander *Yunnan lake newt *Zhijin warty newt


Caecilians

* Banna caecilian (Ichthyophis bannanicus)


Fish

In freshwater alone, China has more than 1,000 fish species. By far the most diverse order are the cypriniforms, followed by the siluriforms. Yangtze is the richest river basin in the country and it is home to more than 350 strict freshwater fish species (as well as several also found in brackish or saltwater).Ye, S.; Li, Z.; Liu, J;, Zhang, T.; and Xie, S. (2011). Distribution, Endemism and Conservation Status of Fishes in the Yangtze River Basin, China. pp. 41-66 in: Ecosystems Biodiversity, InTech. . A high percentage of these are endemic to the country and many are seriously threatened. Among others, it is feared that the Chinese paddlefish, as well as several species from the Yunnan lakes (notably Dian Lake, Dian, Erhai Lake, Erhai, Fuxian Lake, Fuxian and Yilong Lake, Yilong), already are extinct. China has far more cavefish species than any other country in the world. With a long coastline that ranges from temperate to tropical oceans, China has many marine fish species such as the Pacific cod.


Invertebrates


Freshwater crabs

China is home to more than 250 different species of freshwater crabs (families Potamidae and Gecarcinucidae), many of them endemics. It is thus the country with the highest species richness in freshwater crabs. The most speciose genera are ''Sinopotamon'', ''Longpotamon'', ''Indochinamon'' and ''Nanhaipotamon''.


Molluscs


Butterflies


Centipedes

*''Ethmostigmus rubripes''


Endangered species


See also

*List of endangered and protected species of China *Animal welfare and rights in China *List of mammals of China *List of mammals of Taiwan *List of mammals of Hong Kong *List of amphibians of China


Notes and references


External links


China Wildlife Conservation Association
{{Portal bar, China Biota of China Wildlife by country, China