JAPANESE SEROW

Goat Antelopes
NAME OF ANIMALDESCRIPTION
JAPANESE SEROWTHE JAPANESE SEROW IS A GOAT ANTELOPE. IT IS. THE JAPANESE SEROW IS A SMALL BOVID WHOSE DISPLAYED MORPHOLOGY IS PRIMITIVE ABOUT OTHER BOVIDS. IT HAS A STOCKY BODY, THE SIZE OF WHICH VARIES A LITTLE BETWEEN THE SEXES.
MEASUREMENTMALEFEMALEEQUAL/DIFFERENT
HEAD TO BODY LENGTH130 CM (4.3 FEET)130 CM (51.18 INCHES)DIFFERENT
SHOULDER HEIGHT68 AND 78 CENTIMETERS (27 TO 31 INCHES)ABOUT THE SAME MEASUREMENTEQUALLY SAME
HEIGHT25.6”-41.3” | 65-105 CMABOUT THE SAME MEASUREMENTEQUALLY SAME
TAIL LENGTH6 TO 16 CENTIMETERS (2.4 TO 6.3 INCHES).ABOUT THE SAME MEASUREMENTEQUALLY/SAME
WEIGHT30 AND 45 KILOGRAMS (66 TO 99 POUNDS)33 AND 44 KG (73 AND 97 LBS)DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICSDESCRIPTION
RANGETHE JAPANESE SEROW’S RANGE IS RESTRICTED TO THE ISLANDS OF HONSHU, SHIKOKU, AND KYUSHU IN JAPAN
HABITAT DENSELY WOODED HILLSIDES AND CONIFER FORESTS
PRIMARY DIETHERBIVORES
FOOD HABITATS FLESHY LEAVES, EVERGREEN ‘LEAVES’, SHOOTS, ACORNS.
CONSERVATION STATUS JAPANESE SEROWS WERE HUNTED TO NEAR EXTINCTION BY PEOPLE IN THE PAST. THEY ARE CURRENTLY PROTECTED AS A NATURAL HERITAGE AND HUNTING HAS BEEN PROHIBITED. ALTHOUGH SOME POPULATIONS ARE DECLINING.
LOWER RISK
REASON FOR THE STATUSHABITAT LOSS AND DEGRADATION: AS HUMAN ACTIVITIES EXPAND, SEROWS FACE HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION, PUSHING THEM INTO LESS SUITABLE AREAS.

CONFLICT WITH HUMANS: SEROWS CAN DAMAGE FORESTRY PLANTATIONS AND FARM CROPS, LEADING TO CONFLICT WITH FORESTERS AND FARMERS WHO MAY RESORT TO CULLING THEM OUTSIDE CONSERVATION ZONES.
CHARACTERISTICSDESCRIPTION: REPRODUCTION & BEHAVIOR
GESTATION PERIOD7 MONTHS
YOUNG PER BIRTH1 RARELY 2
WEANING5 TO 6 MONTHS
MATINGOCTOBER & NOVEMBER
LIFESTYLESOLITARY IN PAIRS,OR SMALL GROUPS
SEXUAL MATURITYFEMALES AT 2.5 YEARS, MALES BETWEEN 2.5 AND 3 YEARS.
BEHAVIORTHE JAPANESE SEROW FEEDS DURING THE EARLY MORNING AND LATE AFTERNOON, SHELTERING IN CAVES AND UNDER ROCK LEDGES DURING THE REST OF THE DAY. WHILE THEY MOVE WITH A SLOW, CLUMSY, THEY ARE SURE-FOOTED AND STEADY, NEGOTIATING STEEP ROCKY SLOPES WITH EASE. FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, THE JAPANESE SEROW LIVES IN SMALL, DISCRETE HOME RANGES.

BOTH THE MALES AND FEMALES MARK THEIR HOME RANGES WITH THE SECRETION FROM THEIR PRE-ORBITAL GLANDS. , LEADING TO SPECIFIC DEFECATION AND RESTING SPOTS. DURING CONFLICTS, THE OPPONENTS CHASE EACH OTHER, IMPOSING SERIOUS INJURIES BY STABBING WITH THEIR SHARP HORNS.
MAIN PREADATORTHE PRIMARY NATURAL PREDATORS OF THE JAPANESE SEROW ARE LARGE CARNIVORES, INCLUDING BEARS AND ASIAN GOLDEN WOLVES. HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND HABITAT ENCROACHMENT, HOWEVER, POSE A GREATER THREAT THAN NATURAL PREDATION, LEADING TO VARIOUS CONSERVATION CHALLENGES.
LIFESPAN IN THE WILD
15 YEARS
LIFESPAN IN CAPTIVITY20 YEARS