Scientists unlock the migration mystery of the golden takin

02 March 2010 

The golden takin is a large plant-eating mammal that lives in the mountains of China. Each season it migrates up or down the mountain. Until recently the reason behind its complex seasonal migration pattern was a mystery. But researchers Tie-Jun Wang and Andrew Skidmore of the University of Twente’s Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation believe they have at last cracked the secret. The golden takin does not simply follow sources of readily available food, like other herbivores. It deliberately seeks out sunlight during the cold winter months. The researchers’ findings recently made the cover of the prestigious Journal of Mammalogy.

China's Qinling Mountains are home to the golden takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi), a hoofed herbivore that can weigh up to 350 kilos. It was recently discovered that these animals seek out different altitudes at different seasons. In summer they scale the heights (2200 - 2800 m) and move down the mountains in wintertime (1900 - 2400 m). For shorter periods in the spring and autumn, they descend further down the mountain (1400 - 1900 m). Until recently the reason behind this complex seasonal migration pattern was a mystery. Most mountain-dwelling herbivores only migrate in search of food and therefore live at higher altitudes in summer and inhabit lower slopes for the rest of the year.

Warmth
The main source of puzzlement until recently was why the golden takin would want to move higher up the mountain during winter. A team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Twente's Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, now believe that they have discovered the reason. In spring, summer and autumn, the golden takin goes in search of food like its fellow herbivores. But in the winter it treks further up the mountain in search of warmth. On higher ground, they enjoy greater exposure to the sun's rays. The researchers' findings were recently published in the prestigious Journal of Mammalogy, even making the cover. Twente's researchers Tie-Jun Wang and Andrew Skidmore worked closely on the project with researchers from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and America's Woods Hole Research Center.

The golden takin is a large plant-eating mammal that lives in the mountains of China. Its diet consists of over 100 different types of plants. Takins can grow up to 220 centimetres in length and can weigh up to 350 kilos, yet they are also agile climbers. They live in groups and alone (photograph: Tie-Jun Wang).

Note to the press: The results of the study are described in the article Effects of plant phenology and solar radiation on seasonal movement of golden takin in the Qinling Mountains, China which is published in the Journal of Mammalogy. An electronic version of the article is available on request from our science information officer Joost Bruysters (tel.: +31 (0)53 4892773).