Japanese serow
The Japanese serow is a Japanese goat-antelope, an even-toed ungulate. It is found in dense woodland in Japan, primarily in northern and central Honshu. The serow is seen as a national symbol of Japan, and is subject to protection in conservation areas.
Adult Japanese serow stand about tall and weigh. They are black to whitish, and colouring lightens in summer. The fur is very bushy, especially the tail. Both sexes have short, backwards-curving horns, and are difficult to distinguish by sight. Japanese serow are found in dense mountain forests where they eat leaves, shoots, and acorns. They are diurnal and feed in early mornings and late afternoons. Serows are solitary, or gather in couples or small family groups. The animal marks its territory with sweet-and-sour-smelling preorbital gland secretions, and males and females have separate territories that may overlap.
In the mid-20th century, the Japanese serow was hunted to near-extinction. In 1955, the Japanese government passed a law designating it a "Special National Monument" to protect it from poachers. Populations have since grown so greatly that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals ranks it "least concern". Complaints from foresters and farmers led in 1979 to the 1955 law's repeal. Since then, the serow has had protected status in 13 designated protected areas over 23 prefectures, and has been subject to culling as a pest outside conservation areas. Conservationists have labelled it a "living national treasure of the forest".
Taxonomy
Taxonomically Coenraad Jacob Temminck first described the Japanese serow in 1836, and named it Antilope crispa. John Edward Gray gave it its current name in 1846. Pierre Marie Heude proposed many new genera and species in a system published in 1898; Capricornis became Capricornulus, which included crispus, pryerianus, and saxicola. The system did not find acceptance.File:Nemorhaedus caudatus.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A photograph of a small, brownish goat-like animal with its head down feeding|A long-tailed goral . Serows ' have sometimes been classified with gorals under the genus Naemorhedus.
There is no fossil record of the Japanese serow; its evolutionary history and the closeness of its relation to the Taiwan serow are speculative. Its taxonomic position has led to it being called a "living fossil". Karyotype studies indicate it was the earliest species to split from the common Capricornis ancestor. The closest relative to the Japanese serow is the Taiwan serow. Genetically, there is little difference between Japanese and Taiwan serows; their karyotype is essentially the same: 2n=50, FN=60. The Taiwan serow is smaller and shorter-haired, with browner fur and a white patch under the chin and throat.
Phylogenetically, Capricornis is closer to goats and sheep than cattle. The nomenclature and status of Capricornis taxa are not completely resolved. Some researchers have considered Capricornis a junior synonym of Naemorhedus, a classification that includes gorals; molecular analysis has not supported this classification. Capricornis has a lower canine, which Naemorhedus species usually do not.
In Japan, the serow is widely thought of as a kind of deer, though deer and serows are in different families. In the past, the Japanese word ' was written using the Chinese character for , meaning "deer". Today, when written using Chinese characters, the characters for "antelope" and "sheep" are used. Sometimes the serow is mistaken for a wild boar.
Appearance and anatomy
The Japanese serow is a small bovid whose displayed morphology is primitive in relation to other bovids. It has a stocky body whose size varies little between sexes or geographic location; it stands about tall and weighs. The hoof is cloven. Compared to mainland serow, the ears are shorter and the coat is typically longer and woollier—about on the body. It has a bushy tail of and no mane.Its fur is whitish around the neck, and fur on the body may be black, black with a dorsal white spot, dark brown, or whitish. The coat lightens in summer. There are three well-developed skin glands: large preorbital glands in both sexes, which increase in size as the animal ages; poorly developed interdigital glands in all four legs; and preputial glands. The adult's 32 permanent teeth form by 30 months, and have a dental formula of. The inner sides of the teeth become blackened with a hard-to-remove substance, likely tree resin. The tongue has a V-shaped apex.
File:Japanese serow skeleton at Kobe Oji Zoo, Japan.jpg|thumb|alt=A Photograph of the skeleton of a goat-like animal|Capricornis crispus skeleton at the Ōji Zoo in Kobe, Japan
Differentiation between the sexes is not well developed; body size, growth, survival, and feeding habits show negligible difference. Both sexes have short, backwards-curving horns measuring ; the sheaths have a series of transverse rings. Horns begin to develop at about four months and continue to grow throughout the lifespan.
Environment affects the size of the first growth ring. Size, curvature, and thickness and number of transverse rings are indicative of age. Up to two years, there are thicker transverse rings, of greater length and flexion than in adults. Into adulthood, thinner horn rings force the thick transverse rings upward. Growth increment slows earlier in maturation in females than in males. Researchers use genitalia and sexual behaviour to distinguish the sexes. Females have two pairs of mammae.
Hearing is sensitive and eyesight is strong—the serow is able to detect and react to movement from a distance, and it can see well in low lighting. Sense of smell is also strong, and the serow can be observed raising its head and sniffing the air around it.
Distribution, ecology, and behaviour
Capricornis crispus is the only wild bovine ruminant in Japan, and is endemic to three of the four main islands of Japan: primarily northern and central Honshu, and small areas in Shikoku and Kyushu. It can tolerate colder, snowier climates better than mainland serows. The animal is found solitary, in pairs, or in small family groups in open grassland and forests at an elevation of about, and uses caves to rest in. It prefers temperate deciduous forest, but also lives in broad-leaved or subalpine coniferous forest made up of Japanese beech, Japanese oak, alpine meadow, and coniferous plantations. Population density is low, at an average of, and no greater than.C. crispus is philopatric and territorial, and marks trees with sweet-sour-smelling preorbital gland secretions to indicate its territory. Males and females establish separate, overlapping ranges, typically, but the male's is typically larger than the female's. Aggression is rare, but the serow may react with hostility to territorial breaches. Due to the extinction of its once-primary predator, the Japanese wolf, the Japanese black bear is its only predator. It flees with a whistling snort when it detects danger. It is an agile, sure-footed mountain dweller that is able to sprint up mountains and to jump from cliff to cliff to safety; hunters have likened this display of agility to the ninja.
The diurnal Japanese serow is a browser that feeds in early morning and late afternoon, primarily on fleshy or coniferous leaves, plant shoots, and acorns. It feeds on alder, sedge, Japanese witch-hazel, and Japanese cedar. It adjusts its diet to what food is locally available, and, as a ruminant, the serow has a four-chambered stomach. Studies indicate that even severe winters have a negligible impact on the serow's food intake, suggesting that, given its solitary social structure, it selects its territory to ensure sufficient food supply. Defecation occurs in set locations.
Life expectancies may be up to 20–25 years. Parapoxvirus is common, though rarely fatal; infection causes papular and nodular lesions. There have been epidemics of contagious pustular dermatitis. Bacteria such as E. coli and Lyme borreliosis are common, and Toxoplasma gondii has been reported. C. crispus is susceptible to numerous parasites, such as the nematode Trichuris discolor and the lungworm Protostrongylus shiozawai.
Reproduction
Capricornis crispus is socially monogamous. Females reach sexual maturity at 30 months. First breeding takes place at age 2.5–3 years; breeding occurs once a year, between September and January. In a courtship ritual resembling that of goats or gazelles, the male Japanese serow licks the female's mouth, strikes her on the hindlegs with his forelegs, and rubs her genitalia with his horns. Both sexes display Flehmen responses.Birth takes place between June and August after a gestation period of about 210–220 days. It takes about half an hour, and the female walks about during the birth. The single fawn is tall and reaches adult height in a year. The fawn stays with its mother for 1–2 years. It then moves gradually from its mother's range until it establishes its own. Young that do not disperse on their own may be chased away by the mother.
Relationship with humans
The earliest record of human contact with the serow is of a small number of prehistoric Jōmon period bones unearthed by archaeologists, primarily in mountainous regions. It is speculated the serow was hunted for its hide and for food. What is believed to be the earliest written record appears in the ' : the Emperor Tenmu sent the hides of a ' to senior statesmen; this ' likely refers to the serow, and recurs elsewhere in the Nihon Shoki.The 8th-century ' contains a waka poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro that mentions a group of shishi; a number of writers have concluded this animal is the serow, but others have pointed out the serow is normally solitary. Heian period documents record gifts of serow horns brought to the capital. Japan's earliest extant medical work, the , appears to record the use of serow horn and flesh for medicinal purposes.
For centuries following the Heian period, mention of the serow becomes scarce. There is some belief that it was still hunted for medicinal use. The Edo period saw records increase. The encyclopaedia of 1712 contains an illustrated entry on the serow. came into effect, but exceptions were made where animals damaged crops. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, realistic depictions appeared of the serow, beginning with one in Keisuke Ito's Fauna Japonica.