Study area
Assessment of the distribution of Sichuan takin in this study was limited to the core takin population, located in Sichuan Province(Figure 1), as environmental data availability in the provinces of Gansu was restricted. Sichuan Province is located in southwest China, and is characterized by a varied topography, including a large flat basin, swaths of hilly landscapes, and high mountains and plateaus, stretching from less than 400m asl to higher than 4000m asl. The heterogeneous terrain has resulted in a landscape with numerous distinct environments and high species diversity and richness (Zhang et al., 2009). Several species are endemic or particularly abundant in this region, including Sichuan takin, giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana ), Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana ), and Chinese monal (Lophophorus lhuysii ). To date, 46 giant panda nature reserves have been designated in Sichuan, covered 5.24% of the total area of the province (Forestry Department of Sichuan Province, 2015). Due to its high richness of biodiversity, and as the main component of the mountains of southwest China, large areas of Sichuan are considered a global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000; Noroozi et al., 2018).