Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
severely depleted and their habitat is heavily fragmented. The
status of Nomascus gibbons in Cambodia is unclear, but it is
highly unlikely that significant numbers of any form other
than H. gabriellae occur, leaving Lao PDR as supporting the
majority of remaining H. l. siki and H. l. leucogenys.
On account of their small national range and the pressures
on all diurnal primates, White-handed, Pileated and
Black-cheeked Crested Gibbons are all clearly At Risk in
Lao PDR. White-cheeked Crested Gibbon (including siki)
probably has a large range and so is considered Potentially
At Risk in Lao PDR. However, few areas north of the Nam
Theun basin support high densities of gibbons over a large
area. Thus, if H. l. leucogenys occurs only in this area, as a
subspecies it would better be considered as At Risk in Lao
PDR. The taxonomic uncertainty over the large Xe Pian -
Dong Hua Sao NBCAs population means that Yellowcheeked
Crested Gibbon can only be considered Little Known
in Lao PDR.
Conservation Management and Research Proposed for
Gibbons:
• Complete protection of gibbons in Lao PDR from hunting
and capture (all except White-handed Gibbon have a
very high to high priority for international conservation
action; Eudey 1987).
• Evaluation and implementation of the precise conservation
needs of Black-cheeked Crested Gibbon in Nam Kan
PNBCA, its only known site.
• Surveys of north-west Lao PDR for other populations of
Black-cheeked Crested Gibbon.
• Protection of evergreen forest in Dong Khanthung
PNBCA, which supports the only known population of
Pileated Gibbon in Lao PDR.
• Selection of key sites for each individual pale-cheeked
taxon, which can only proceed when their distribution is
better understood. Progress with tape-recording and
analysis of calls, coupled with detailed pelage description,
is needed. For the group as a whole, the Nam Theun
and the Xe Kong basins are both of high importance.
The northernmost form (H. l. leucogenys) may prove to
be the most threatened taxon as no large areas of the north
are known to hold healthy gibbon populations: Nam Xam
and Phou Louey NBCAs may be the most likely areas.
• Specific consideration to White-handed Gibbon in the
management plan of Nam Phoun NBCA, its only known
Lao site.
Canidae: Jackals, dogs, foxes (2-6 species in Lao PDR; 34
worldwide)
[• Canis lupus Grey Wolf (= Wolf M1, M4, M5 ; = Timber Wolf)].
Conservation Significance: Conditionally At Risk in Lao
PDR. Context: Ginsberg and Macdonald (1990) included
182
northern Lao PDR in the former range of Grey Wolf, but
primary evidence for this is unclear and it may have been an
error (D. Mech and J. Ginsberg pers. comm. to Duckworth et
al. 1998c). However, there are records in southern China from
as close to Lao PDR as Xishuangbanna (Wang Yingxiang
1987) and it is thus possible that wolf may be found to occur
(or to have formerly done so) in Lao PDR. As a large carnivore
it would undoubtedly be at risk in the country were it
found to occur.
• Canis aureus Golden Jackal (= Asiatic Jackal M2 ; =
Jackal M1 ). Conservation Significance: Little Known in Lao
PDR. Documented Range and Habitat: North (RJTiz), centre
(historically, provisionally, Deuve 1972), south
(Duckworth et al. 1998c). Recent records come from large
blocks of lowland dry dipterocarp forest; historical and village
information suggests that other open habitats are used.
Status Information: Recent records from Xe Pian NBCA (Xe
Kong Plains and Dong Kalo sectors) and Dong Khanthung
PNBCA (Duckworth et al. 1998c). A captive puppy in
Vientiane in 1996 reportedly came from Vientiane Province
(WGR). Two at Ban Keun Zoo were trapped at the zoo’s
chicken farm (close to Phou Khaokhoay NBCA) in 1996 (N.
Krathintong per RJTiz). Delacour (1940) gave no records for
Lao PDR, but Deuve (1972) claimed occurrence in many
provinces north to Phongsali. Jackals may remain well distributed,
but their noses are reportedly used in traditional
medicine (Martin 1992), and most medium- or large-bodied
mammal species inhabiting open areas are under pressure
(see Duckworth et al. 1998c), so the species is considered
Little Known in Lao PDR.
[Canis familiaris Domestic Dog (included in C. lupus M6 )].
Feral dogs may occur in Lao PDR, primarily around human
settlements (Corbet and Hill 1992), but there is no evidence
of self-sustaining populations. Domestic / feral dogs are sometimes
seen, apparently unaccompanied by people, deep within
forest (Duckworth et al. 1998c, Fernando in prep.). Some
village reports taken by the interviewers to indicate Dhole
may well refer to this species or to jackals, as neither of the
latter species was included in the standard interview.
[Vulpes vulpes Red Fox]. Recorded from Langson and Cao
Bang, Tonkin, Vietnam (Delacour 1940, Dao Van Tien 1977),
so may extend into extreme northern Lao PDR.
[Nyctereutes procyonoides Raccoon Dog]. Occurs widely in
Tonkin (Vietnam) and (at least formerly) was not rare (Osgood
1932, Bourret 1942); may therefore inhabit adjacent north
Lao PDR.
• Cuon alpinus Dhole (= Asian Wild Dog M2 ; = Red Dog).
Conservation Significance: Globally Threatened - Vulnerable;
At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented