Table 2.
Herbivore density and estimated forage consumption by kiang vis-à-vis livestock in Changthang
| Species | Body weight(kg) | Density(animals km−2) | Total forage consumption in summer (kg km−2) | Percent forage consumption in summer | Total forage consumption in winter (kg km−2) | Percent forage consumption in winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiang | 275 | 0.24 | 1.6 | 10 | 1.2 | 11 |
| Livestock | ||||||
| Donkey | 90 | 0.04 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Horse | 248 | 0.15 | 0.9 | 5 | 0.7 | 6 |
| Cattle | 191 | 0.16 | 0.7 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 |
| Yak | 298 | 0.26 | 1.5 | 9 | 1.1 | 10 |
| Yak cattle hybrids | 227 | 0.01 | 0.03 | <1 | 0.02 | <1 |
| Sheep | 34 | 3.98 | 4.4 | 27 | 2.9 | 26 |
| Goat | 33 | 6.44 | 6.9 | 43 | 4.5 | 41 |
| Livestock total | 1121 | 11.03 | 14.5 | 90 | 9.7 | 89 |
| Total | 11.27 | 16.08 | 10.96 |
Body weights are taken from Mishra (2001) and have been averaged between sexes. Note that this will result in an overestimate of the offtake by kiang because we assumed that all kiang were adult. Livestock density was calculated only for adult animals.