Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
• Clarification of the balance of diurnal / nocturnal activity
of weasels and badgers in Lao PDR, to aid in survey
planning. The low stature of weasels and ferret badgers
means that camera trapping may not be a useful technique
to survey them.
• Assessment of the level of fisheries-otter conflict and the
effects (if any) of fish-stock depletion on otter
populations.
• Investigation of the effects of explosives fishing and other
illegal fishing techniques on otters.
• Investigation of the need for government intervention
over stock predation; civets are frequent small livestock
predators in rural Lao PDR (Table 2).
Herpestidae: Mongooses (2 species in Lao PDR; 37 worldwide)
Herpestes javanicus Small Asian Mongoose (= Javan
Mongoose M2 ); (includes H. auropunctatus Small Indian
Mongoose M1, M4 and H. javanicus Javan Mongoose M4 ).
North M12 , centre M12 , south M12 . Dry dipterocarp forest,
grasslands and other open areas, also secondary vegetation.
Apparently rather local: Duckworth (1997a) traced few recent
records, and Delacour (1940) no historical ones. Taxonomic
issues: Two taxa were formerly recognised and Deuve
(1972) recorded both for Lao PDR; being partly sympatric,
they were considered full species. Wells (1989) argued on
morphological grounds that the two were not distinct. Further
information (notably skulls and other specimens) from
across the range would clarify the situation.
Herpestes urva Crab-eating Mongoose. North M12 , centre M12 ,
south M12 . Evergreen forest (including degraded areas), mainly
near water; most recent records are from mountainous areas.
Records prior to 1997 were reviewed by Duckworth (1997a).
Felidae: Cats (8-9 species in Lao PDR; 36 worldwide)
[Felis catus (included in F. silvestris M6 ) Domestic Cat].
Feral populations may occur around human settlements
(Corbet and Hill 1992), but none has yet been documented
in Lao PDR. Given the ease with which domestic cats form
feral populations in a wide variety of ecological/climatic
zones, the occurrence of feral populations in Lao PDR seems
highly likely; the lack of documentation may be due primarily
to a lack of interest in them.
• Felis chaus Jungle Cat. Conservation Significance: At Risk
in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented Range and
Habitat: North (historically, provisionally, Deuve 1972), centre
(RJTiz), south (historically, provisionally, Deuve 1972).
Open deciduous forest and other habitats lacking a closed
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tall canopy, e.g. grassland; usually not far from rivers (Deuve
1972). Status Information: Delacour (1940) traced no historical
records, and the sole historical evidence for this species’s
occurrence in Lao PDR appears to be Deuve (1972),
who stated that Jungle Cat inhabited open forest and grassy
savanna between Pakkading and Pakxe, being abundant along
the road from Pakkading to Thakhek. There is only one recent
record: a single seen by car headlights in degraded
flatland mixed deciduous forest in Boulapha District,
Khammouan Province, at 21h00 on 4 May 1999 (RJTiz)
There is also a claim based on village interviews from the
nearby Nakai Plateau (WCS 1996b). Jungle Cat is now rare
in Thailand (Graham and Round 1994; S. Jaisomkom verbally
1997) and has presumably decreased in Lao PDR for
similar reasons. Jungle Cat shuns dense forest (Prater 1971)
and in Lao PDR, the more open areas generally support higher
human presence and thus hunting pressure. Thus, among
small cat species, Jungle Cat’s decline is likely to be the most
severe; all the others have been recorded recently from large
little-degraded blocks of dense forest. It is considered to be
At Risk in Lao PDR.
Prionailurus bengalensis (= Felis bengalensis M1, M2, M3, M4 )
Leopard Cat. North M12 , centre M12 , south M12 . Evergreen and
deciduous forest and adjacent degraded areas from the
Mekong plains to at least 1200 m. Historical and recent
records of Leopard Cat are much more numerous than are
those of other cats (Delacour 1940, Duckworth 1997a); the
reasons for this presumed greater abundance are unclear.
Duckworth (1997a) reviewed records prior to 1997. Subsequently
the species has been confirmed in several other survey
areas. Its former status as a species of special conservation
concern (Salter 1993b) is now shown to be unwarranted.
Special Significance: CITES Appendix II.
• Prionailurus viverrinus (= Felis viverrina M1, M2, M4 ) Fishing
Cat. Conservation Significance: Globally Near-Threatened;
Little Known in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented
Range and Habitat: North (Tizard 1996), south M11 . Recent
records were in hill evergreen forest and lowland riverine
forest amid open deciduous forest. Status Information: Two
recent records: one in the Nam Pan river, Nam Theun Extension
NBCA, in early 1996 (WCS 1996b) and one in the Xe
Xou lowlands, Dong Ampham NBCA in January 1997
(Davidson et al. 1997). The first was in evergreen forest, the
second in dense riverside tangles amid dry dipterocarp forest
at 300 m (RJTiz). There is also a provisional record from
Nam Kan PNBCA (J.-F. Reumaux in litt. 1998), and reports
from several other areas (Table 12). Delacour (1940) traced
no historical records. Deuve and Deuve (1963c, quoting
Cheminaud 1942) and Deuve (1972) recorded the species
provisionally along the Mekong around Ban Houayxai
(Bokeo Province) and in the lower Nam Ou (Louangphabang
Province).