Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2021 | 13(12): 19855–19859
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7475.13.12.19855-19859
#7475 | Received 28 May 2021 | Final received
02 August 2021 | Finally accepted 22 August 2021
A recent sighting of the
Stripe-backed Weasel Mustela strigidorsa (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae)
in Hkakabo Razi Landscape, Myanmar
Sai Sein Lin Oo
1 , Tun Tun 2,
Kyaw Myo Naing 3
& Paul Jeremy James Bates 4
1 Department of Zoology, University
of Mandalay, 05032 Maha Aung Myay
Township, Mandalay, Myanmar.
2 Freelance, Nyaung
Pin Seik, 05242 Popa, Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay, Myanmar.
3 Department of Zoology, Pathein University, 10014 Pathein
Township, Ayeyarwady, Myanmar.
4 Harrison Institute, 15 St
Botolph’s Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3AQ, UK.
1 saiseinlinoo@mu.edu.mm, 2 tuntun094037@gmail.com,
3 kyawmyonaing77@gmail.com,
4 pjjbates2@hotmail.com (corresponding
author)
Editor: C. Srinivasulu, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Date of publication: 26 October 2021
(online & print)
Citation: Oo,
S.S.L., T. Tun, K.M. Naing & P.J.J. Bates (2021). A recent sighting of the
Stripe-backed Weasel Mustela strigidorsa (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae)
in Hkakabo Razi Landscape, Myanmar. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(12): 19855–19859. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7475.13.12.19855-19859
Copyright: © Oo
et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We thank all those who assisted with the field study
in Hkakabo Razi Landscape. In the UK, we thank the
trustees of the Harrison Institute for their ongoing support of our work in
Myanmar. We are grateful to the
anonymous reviewers for their most useful comments.
In the past, the Stripe-backed Weasel Mustela strigidorsa was
considered to be rare (Lekagul & McNeely 1977;
Burton & Pearson 1987; Treesucon 1989; Grassman et al. 2002) and was categorized as ‘Vulnerable’
in the 1996 IUCN Red List (Roberton et al. 2016).
Subsequently, Abramov et al. (2008) provided a
comprehensive review of the animal’s morphology, taxonomy, nomenclature,
ecology, behaviour, and conservation status and
listed over 100 distribution records from northeastern India, including Sikkim,
Myanmar, southern China, northern Vietnam, Lao PDR, and northern Thailand.
Contrary to Pocock (1941), Corbet & Hill (1992), and others, Nepal was
omitted (with justifications). The paper
concluded that it is possible that ‘the species is neither particularly rare
nor threatened, rather that it is an inconspicuous denizen of chronically
under-surveyed regions.’ It was recommended that ‘all records, even single
incidental ones, merit publication’.
Subsequent to Abramov et al. (2008), the Stripe-backed
Weasel was discovered in northeastern Cambodia (McCann & Pawlowski 2018),
and additional records were contributed from Lao PDR (Streicher et al. 2010)
and Thailand (Chutipong et al. 2014). A molecular
study, which included M. strigidorsa, was
undertaken by Kurose et al. (2008). Meanwhile, its IUCN status was downgraded
in 2008 to ‘Least Concern’ (reconfirmed in 2016) on account of its widespread
distribution, presumed large population, occurrence in many protected areas,
apparent tolerance of habitat modification, and hunting pressure (Roberton et al. 2016).
In Myanmar, the Stripe-backed Weasel was omitted by
Yin (1967). However, some of the earliest records of this species were from
Myanmar, including the first outside Sikkim and, if valid, Nepal. Thomas (1891)
listed a specimen collected from Thagata, ‘east of
Moulmein’ (= Mawlamyine), adjacent to Mount Mooleyit (= Mulayit Taung). Today, Thagata is
included in Kayin State but at that time, it was
assigned to Tenasserim. This may explain the confusion with Lekagul
and McNeely’s (1977) distribution map, which includes the whole of present day Tanintharyi Region (= Tenasserim) and only a ‘?’ where Thagata is located (see Abramov et al. 2008; Chutipong et al. 2014).
Subsequent records from Myanmar are listed in the
Appendix of Abramov et al. (2008) and include two localities in Chin State,
based on material collected in 1914 and 1915, and a series of localities in
Kachin State. Of the 24 Myanmar records listed by Abramov et al. (2008), 17 are
for specimens held in the Natural History Museum, London [BMNH] (collected
between 1914 and 1938), and one each for the collections of the Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago [FMNH] (collected in 1931) and the Museo Civico, Genoa
(collected c. 1885–1889), respectively. The remaining five are remains of dead
animals, mostly skins, held by villagers in Kachin State, between 1997 and
2005.
The recent sighting of a single individual in Hkakabo Razi Landscape by TT represents the first observation of
the species in Myanmar that includes photographs and video footage. It took
place on 07 March 2019, at 0910 h, some 2 km from Atet
San Kawng Village, Putao
Township, Kachin State (27.433°N, 97.250°E) (Figure 1). The site has an
elevation of c. 580 m. This elevation is lower than most other records from
Myanmar, which have a range of 90 to 2,135 m and median score of 1,220 m.
However, it is more consistent with those from Thailand, Lao PDR, and Vietnam,
which when combined, have a range of 130 to 1,750 m (n= 26) and a median of 800
m (data are taken from Abramov et al. 2008). Geographically, the new location
lies within the known distribution of the species in Kachin. In Myanmar, except
for two specimens from Paletwa, western Chin State
(Locality 18 in Figure 1), all the records are from the mountainous areas in
the west, north, and east of the country. To date, none has been found in the
central areas of the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin river
basins (Figure 1).
The photographs show the characteristic pelage of this
species, and in particular the diagnostic narrow, almost white stripe that runs
from the crown of the head to the base of the tail (Image 1). The video shows a
single animal foraging through undergrowth on the ground, searching among dried
leaves and litter (Video 1). This seems typical of the species, which is
reported elsewhere as being primarily solitary and diurnal in its habits
(Streicher et al. 2010; Hobcroft 2011; Coudrat et al. 2014). The area is thickly vegetated and is
located in the foothills of a forested mountain range, approximately 20 m from
a stream (Image 2). The evergreen forest comprises large trees, shrubs, and
bamboo thicket, dominated by Shorea spp.,
Dipterocarpus spp., and Bambusa spp. The climate is subtropical.
Although there is considerable local variation in average temperature and
rainfall, in Putao (which is situated close-by) the
mean annual temperature is c. 27 °C and the mean annual rainfall is 349 mm
(Aung et al. 2017). The video footage complements a previous video by Andy Merk in 2016 in Phu Kieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, which was posted on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLLUPAvigg). This
latter video shows a Stripe-backed Weasel coming to a pool to drink.
The recent photographs are some of very few taken of
the animal in the wild, other than by camera-trap, and the first for Myanmar.
As with reports from elsewhere in its range (Abramov et al. 2008), the Myanmar
individual appears to be either unaware of the presence of humans or not
particularly shy. It approached within 5 m of TT and stayed in the area for a
considerable period of time. To date, this species has not recorded in camera
traps in Myanmar (Zaw et al. 2008). This reflects a
similar situation elsewhere in its range (Abramov et al. 2008; Datta et al. 2008; Hunter & Barrett 2018), with single
published camera trap records for Lao PDR (Streicher et al. 2010) and Cambodia
(McCann & Pawlowski 2018), respectively.
The population status of the Stripe-backed Weasel in
Myanmar is not known. However, villagers reported it to be locally common in
Kachin (Rabinowitz & Khaing 1998). This anecdotal
evidence corresponds to reports in other countries, where villagers also
suggest it is at least locally common (Abramov et al. 2008). It is mostly
impossible to verify the identifications. Unlike earlier reports from China (Roberton et al. 2016), there is no evidence in Myanmar that
it is hunted, although individuals, especially those that depredate domestic
chickens, may be trapped and killed by villagers (Zaw
et al. 2008). Unlike Lao PDR (Hansel & Tizard 2016), in Myanmar there are
no reports of this species being sold in markets.
The incidental sighting reinforces the view that
Hkakabo Razi Landscape is a refuge for rich
biodiversity, including mammals (Rabinowitz & Khaing
1998; Bates et al. 2021) and birds (Renner et al. 2015). It is also important
for a species that is not well covered by camera-trap by-catch (for example
from Tiger surveys and monitoring) and for which there is no form of monitoring
program anywhere in its range. Therefore, further study of this small carnivore
species in Myanmar would be of much interest.
Video 1. Video of Stripe-backed Weasel Mustela strigidorsa
foraging through undergrowth, 2km from Atet San Kawng Village, Hkakabo Razi
Landscape. © Tun Tun.
For
figure & images - - click here
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