Conserving Musk Deer the Uses of Musk and Europe's Role in its Trade (pdf, 360 kb)

9

(Wemmer, 1998).  About 1500-2000 of the 4000-5000 deer in the Russian Far East live in protected areas,

70% of them in just one enclave, the Sikhote-Alin biosphere reserve.  

According to Prikhod‘ko (1997), musk deer numbered no fewer than 200 000 at the beginning of the

nineteenth century, but their economic exploitation peaked in the middle of that century - in 1855, official

records show that 81 200 males were captured - and by the end of the century the species was believed to

be threatened with extinction.  Between the 1920s and the 1940s, however, the population recovered

noticeably.  At the end of the 1960s, the population of musk deer in the Soviet Union stood at 80 000-

115 000

1

(see Footnotes).  In the 1980s, the musk deer population in the former Soviet Union continued

to grow and its range extended further (Prikhod‘ko 1997).  At that time, about 50-60% of the world

population of Siberian Musk Deer was found in present-day Russia.  Prior to 1988, the population of musk

deer in the Soviet Union is believed to have numbered some 160 000-170 000 animals (Prikhod‘ko, 1997).

From 1989 to 1993, however, this population is thought to have declined to 90 000-100 000.  Since there

was a great demand for musk at the end of the 1980s, at a time when political changes in the region

precluded adequate trade controls, there was a rapid increase in poaching of musk deer in the late 1980s

and 1990s in Russia (Prikhod‘ko, 1997; Prikhod‘ko and Ovsyanikov, 1998 and TRAFFIC International,

1994).  A total of 300-380 kg of musk was traded from eastern Russia from 1989 to 1996, of which an

estimated one-third was estimated to have come from illegally captured animals (see Illegal trade in

Europe and Hunting in the Soviet Union and Russia).  Since this amount of musk is equivalent to a harvest

of 23 000-26 000 male musk deer or a total harvest of 90 000-104 000 musk deer, the number of musk

deer in Russia would accordingly have declined by 50-70% in the period 1990-93, (Prikhod‘ko, 1997).

For 1996, Prikhod‘ko estimated a musk deer population of 53 000-60 000 (see Table 1).

Faleyev (in Anon., 1993) reports a catastrophic population collapse of up to 80% in the Altai region from

1986 to 1992, and estimated that the 50 kg of musk traded legally in 1990 and 1991, plus the amount

traded illegally, from just that region, must have come from at least 10 000 animals.  Prikhod‘ko (1997)

made random sample counts in the Altai Mountains in 1995 and, based on these, suggested a ten- to

twelve-fold decrease in musk deer population density compared with 1989 and expressed the concern that

increased fragmentation of populations could cause genetic damage to the musk deer.

Conservation status and protection

The conservation statuses of species of musk deer are recorded as follows in the IUCN Red List of

Threatened Animals (IUCN, 1996):

Siberian Musk Deer: Vulnerable (VU)

Forest Musk Deer: Lower Risk (nt)

Himalayan Musk Deer: Lower Risk (nt)

Black Musk Deer: Lower Risk (nt)

Vulnerable (= VU ) means: threatened because of an observed, estimated or anticipated reduction in

population in the past or future.  Lower Risk signifies that the species is not included in the three categories

of “threat” but “nt” (= near threatened) classifies them as approaching a threatened level.

All musk deer species have been included in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1979.  Populations of Siberian Musk Deer

Moschus moschiferus occurring in the countries of the Himalayan region (Afghanistan, Bhutan, India,

Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan) were included in Appendix I (although Green (1998) considers these

populations to be of Himalayan Musk Deer Moschus chryogaster and Black Musk Deer M. fuscus), while

all other musk deer species are listed in Appendix II.

---

10

There are primarily two forms of threat that have caused depletion of populations of musk deer throughout

their range, more recently with increasing effect in Russia and China.  The first is loss of habitat and the

second is hunting of the animal to obtain musk (Wemmer 1998; Green, 1986; Jackson, 1979 and

Prikhod‘ko, 1997).

Loss of habitat as a threat

Musk deer habitat is converted for settlements, agriculture and other types of land use, under pressure from

a constantly growing human population. 

Green (1986) reported that the overall distribution of musk deer south of the Himalayas has not decreased

markedly in the twentieth century, but that the populations today inhabit significantly smaller areas and

that their occurrence is more fragmented than at the beginning of the century.  This is likely to be a result

of the dramatic increase in human population, particularly in India and Nepal.  The habitats of musk deer

in the subalpine region of the Himalayas are increasingly used for harvesting firewood and as pasture land

(Harris, 1991).  This causes the loss of the understorey of vegetation which is of particular importance to

musk deer for food and shelter against predators.  According to Green (1986), the area of potential habitat

for musk deer south of the Himalayas is about 50 000 km

2

.  With an identified optimum population density

of three to six individuals/km

2

, this area would provide space for 200 000 animals.  The same author

suggests, however, that the mean population density is similar to that in Russia (Bannikov et al., 1978) and

is around 0.6 individuals/km

2

, which places the total population of musk deer in the southern Himalayas

at no more than 30 000 animals.

Habitat loss is also mentioned as a factor threatening musk deer in the Russian Far East, where intensive

timber harvest and the frequent burning of forests are destroying their habitats (Prikhod‘ko, 1997 and

WWF-Deutschland, 1998).

Hunting as a threat

Musk deer have been hunted by humans for thousands of years.  However, the meat is not considered tasty

and even the hide is not particularly valuable as the hairs fall out easily (Heptner and Naumov, 1961).  The

overriding cause for the intense hunting of musk deer has always been the demand for musk.

Jackson (1979) describes the traditional hunting methods of some of the mountain peoples in western

Nepal.  Musk deer and Snow Leopards are killed with poisoned bamboo Arundinaria spp. spears.  Selling

just a small number of musk glands yielded sufficient income to meet a substantial portion of the annual

living costs of a whole family in Nepal in the 1970s.

In other parts of their range, musk deer are hunted with modern guns, snares, traps and dogs.  They may

either be hunted as the prime target for their glands, or shot incidentally in hunting other animals (Ivanovic,

1996).  Investigations in the Himalayas showed that particularly large numbers of female and young deer

are killed during musk deer hunts.  These may later be used as bait in traps or as dog food.  In considering

the impact of hunting on musk deer populations, it is important to bear in mind the fact that at least three

to five animals may have to be killed in order to secure one male with a sufficiently large musk gland

(Green, 1986; Jackson, 1979 and Prikhod‘ko, 1997). 

Hunting in the Soviet Union and Russia

In the Soviet Union, hunting of musk deer was subject to a licensing system and used to be controlled

centrally from Moscow.  Annual musk deer population counts were carried out, on the basis of which

shooting quotas were fixed (A. Vaisman, pers. comm., March 1998).  The counts were carried out by

---