A Spotlight on Mustelids of the Southern Mongolian Forest

Little is known about the mustelids status and distribution in Mongolia: twelve native species occur in the country (Batsaikhan et al. 2014). Only Martes zibelllina is locally threatened, while the data related to the most of the species are deemed deficient (Clark et al. 2006). Between August and October 2018, a camera trapping survey was conducted in the Khangai Nuuru National Park, which hosts the southernmost forest, in Mongolia. The study area includes forest patches, grassland and alpine vegetation above the tree line.We sampled approximately 60km2, displaying 40 camera traps in front of mid-large carnivores marking points and animal trails, keeping a minimum distance between cameras of 800m. The results demonstrated the area provide a rich carnivore guild with a surprisingly high density of mustelids species, other than canids and felids (five other species). In fact, on a minimum explored area of 15km2, seven species were detected, the 58.3% of those occurring in the country. The species list include: Gulo gulo, Martes foina, Mustela eversmanii, Meles leucurus, Mustela sibirica, Mustela erminea and Mustela nivalis. Furs from all of them have been found in the herders houses, as well as in markets and shopping malls of Ulaanbaatar, underlying the strong hunting pressure still present. The study area can be considered a mustelids hotspot due to the high density in a such limited area (which should host also Mustela altaica). The high variety of mustelid species could let infer an intraguild low competition, probably related to the differences in body size, food specialization and largely differentiated prey availability (eg Aunapuu & Oksanen 2003). We strongly encourage a study aimed to assess the status and the conservation effectiveness of mustelids in the Central Mongolia, to address local institutions towards the proper protection actions.