11年後のレッドリスト｜アカカモシカ：森を失い、逃げ場まで細る【IUCNレッドリスト比較】

Hi everyone, Keijin here.

Today, I want to talk about how the Burmese Red Serow (Capricornis rubidus) is bearing the brunt of our actions.

Back in a 2014 field guide, it was listed as “NT” (Near Threatened). Its numbers were already dropping back then due to overhunting and habitat loss.

Fast forward to the IUCN Red List we can check now in 2026. The pressures of population decline and habitat degradation are weighing even heavier. In the 2020 assessment, its status was bumped up to “VU” (Vulnerable), and the overall population trend is still decreasing.

To put it simply, the Red Serow is still trapped in a grim reality—losing its forest home and running out of places to hide.

This is a quick read, taking about 5 minutes or so. I’d really appreciate it if you could stick around until the end.

特徴

• 名前の由来：英名のとおり、体色が赤褐色（赤みの強い褐色）として説明されることが多い
• 見た目：ずんぐりした体つき、短い脚、粗い体毛、後方へ伸びる短い角をもつ“ヤギに近い姿”の中型獣として扱われる
• 希少性：生息地が限られるうえ、目撃・標本記録が多くないとされ、「情報が少ない種」として語られがち
• 保全状況：IUCNではVU（危急）として扱われる情報が広く流通している。国際取引はCITESで規制対象に含まれる

生態など

• 生育環境：森林の急斜面や岩場など、起伏の大きい地形を利用するタイプとして紹介されることが多い
• ふえ方（繁殖）：ウシ科の有蹄類として、胎生で子を産む（繁殖期や出産数など、種単独のまとまった一般向け記述は少ない）
• 行動：警戒心が強く、単独または小さなまとまりで行動するタイプとして説明されることが多い（ただし種単独の定量情報は少ない）
• 脅威：密猟・狩猟圧（肉・薬用・角や頭部などの取引）と、生息地の改変・劣化が主要因として挙げられる
• 脅威：家畜由来の病気リスク（感染症の伝播）や、人間活動の拡大による攪乱が重なる可能性も指摘されることがある

出典

• Wikipedia（概説）Red serow（分布の扱いの注意点・別名などの入口）
• Mammal Diversity Database（種ページ）Capricornis rubidus（分類・IUCN表記の入口）
• CITES（附属書PDF 2024-05-25版）Appendices I, II and III（Capricornis rubidus の掲載確認）
• De Gruyter（論文）Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist（ミャンマーでの分布記述の入口）
• PMC（論文）Activity Rhythms of Coexisting Red Serow and Chinese Serow（中国側での記録・生態研究の入口）

出典

• IUCN Red List 検索結果（Capricornis rubidus）
• WildDocu: Burmese Red Serow（2008年NT評価の整理）
• WWF Greater Mekong / TRAFFIC「Top 10 Most Wanted」
• Ultimate Ungulate References（2008年IUCN評価の参照情報）
• Raffles Bulletin / camera trap survey（政治状況により調査制約）
• Mammal Diversity Database: Red Serow（Capricornis rubidus）
• Mammalia 2024「Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist」
• Mammal Review 2019「Reclassification of the serows and gorals」
• Communications Biology 2019「Habitat degradation and indiscriminate hunting…」
• Genes 2023「Ancient Mitogenomes Reveal Stable Genetic Continuity of Serow Species」
• Mammalia 2024「Occurrence and temporal activity pattern of Burmese Red Serow in Bangladesh」
• Global Ecology and Conservation 2021「Diversity, distribution and conservation of large mammals in northern Myanmar」
• Global Ecology and Conservation 2023「Where do we manage? Uncovering the hidden impact of human disturbance…」
• European Journal of Wildlife Research 2022「Wildlife conservation in Myanmar: trade in wild sheep and goats for meat, medicine, and trophies」

出典

• National Red List Database（脅威要因の要約）
• CITES Appendices（Capricornis rubidus の掲載）
• Mammalia（2024, カメラトラップ研究：人為圧の示唆）
• Global Ecology and Conservation（2021, ミャンマーの大型哺乳類と保護区の文脈）
• European Journal of Wildlife Research（2022, 野生のヒツジ・ヤギ類の取引と狩猟圧の整理）

Questioner: So, you mentioned earlier that with recent genetic research and camera trap surveys, there’s a debate going on. Like, people are wondering, “Is it really its own species, or just a red variation of the Sumatran Serow?” or “Could it actually be a hybrid?”

But here’s the thing—if they could just get a DNA sample, wouldn’t modern technology figure out if it’s a variant or a hybrid pretty quickly? The fact that the debate is still ongoing makes me wonder… is it just incredibly hard to even get their DNA in the first place?

Me: Yeah, you might be right. They probably live in some seriously extreme environments. Let me dig into that a bit more.

出典

• Hystrix 2019「Reclassification of the serows and gorals」
• Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2021「Mining museums for historical DNA」
• Genes 2023「Ancient Mitogenomes Reveal Stable Genetic Continuity of the Holocene Serows」
• Molecular Ecology Notes 2006「Quantification of damage in DNA recovered from highly degraded samples」
• Global Ecology and Conservation 2021「Diversity, distribution and conservation of large mammals in northern Myanmar」
• Oryx「Conservation in response to a crisis: initiating community-led conservation for the white-bellied heron in northern Myanmar」
• European Journal of Wildlife Research 2022「Wildlife conservation in Myanmar: trade in wild sheep and goats for meat, medicine, and trophies」

Questioner: From the perspective of the people fighting in those conflict zones, researchers probably just look like “annoying outsiders poking around to study serows.” Plus, living here in peaceful Japan and having never actually seen or been to a conflict zone myself, it’s not like I’m in any position to just casually weigh in on it.

But maybe that’s exactly why I want to understand a bit more about the political situation in Myanmar—this place that’s known as a “long-standing conflict zone between armed groups and the national military.”

Me: Sure thing. It’s a bit of a detour from our main topic of endangered species, but let me look into it for you.

出典

• 国連 Peacemaker「Panglong Agreement（1947）」
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung「A Country against the Military」
• Global Witness「Jade and Conflict: Myanmar’s Vicious Circle」
• OHCHR「Update on the Human Rights Situation in Myanmar in 2025」
• Global Forest Watch「Kachin, Myanmar Deforestation Rates & Statistics」
• Oryx「Conservation in response to a crisis: initiating community-led conservation for the white-bellied heron in northern Myanmar」
• European Journal of Wildlife Research 2022「Wildlife conservation in Myanmar: trade in wild sheep and goats for meat, medicine, and trophies」

Questioner: I can just picture it… Ethnic minorities trying to protect their land and right to self-rule, and the national military trying to dominate them by force—both sides basically selling off the Red Serow’s “home” piece by piece to fund their war. It really feels like this all comes down to a fundamental difference in how they see things—like two completely different measuring sticks. The ethnic minorities feel the promises of a “federal union and autonomy” from the 1947 Panglong Agreement were broken, while the military insists they kept them, or at least tried to. I know it’s nowhere near that simple, of course…

Me: Yeah. There’s probably no point in us debating the rights and wrongs of the conflict right here. But now that we have a bit of a grasp on the situation, let’s steer the conversation back to endangered species. Whether it’s a war or a local conflict, here in Japan or anywhere else in the world—whenever people fight, the weakest always end up paying the price. That much is a hard truth. And in any conflict, some people make a profit while others lose everything. But in the meantime, because “conservation is impossible” or “research is too dangerous,” the list of endangered species just keeps growing. At first glance, the topic of endangered species just looks like an “animal issue.” But I actually think they’re a measuring stick—a barometer for the crises facing our world and our planet. Because the one thing every endangered species has in common is that human actions are undeniably impacting them. And right behind that, human activity is also driving massive problems like climate change. That’s why I believe that by looking into endangered species, understanding them, and trying to find ways to save them, we’re ultimately paving the way to solving broader issues like climate change, too.