| Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) was studied between July and August 2009, December 2009 and January 2010, July and August 2010 in Suyukou Forest Park, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We explored the behaviors of Pseudois naynaur and recorded the distance of reaction with fixed transect line methods. We categorized their behavioural responses into no responses, vigilance and flight, and recorded their response initiation distance respectively. Some ralative factors in context and group traits were also recorded. The results are as follows.1. In winter, The distance at which the subject of the group was vigilant in small group (the group size is less than 3) is significantly greater than in big group (the group size is more than 3) (Z=2.165, P=0.03). The flight initiation distance in small group (the group size is less than 5) is significantly greater than big group (the group size is more than 5) (Z=2.003, P=0.045). The distance of no responses behavior had no significant differences in three types of group (female-lamb group, male group and mixed group) (Z=0.775, P=0.443; Z=0.427, P=0.669; Z=0.716, P=0.474), the distance of vigilance behavior when the subject of the group first encountered the disturbance in male group is significantly greater than female-lamb group(Z=2.746, P=0.006) and mix group(Z=3.589, P<0.001), flight initiation distance in female-lamb group is greater distance than mix group(Z=2.376, P=0.017). In all three types of group, they had no significant variation among three responses.In summer, the distance at which the subject of the group had no reaction in small group (the group size is less than 2) is significantly nearer than that in big group (the group size is more than 2) (t=-3.050, P=0.003). The distance when the subject of the group represented vigilance in small group (the group size is less than 4) is significantly nearer than that in big group (the group size is more than 4)(t-2.377, P=0.019), for the flight initiation distance, there were no significant difference between small group and big group. In differing group types, blue sheep had variation in vigilance reaction that the distance of male group is significantly nearer than mixed group(P=0.041), there was no significant difference between female-lamb group and male group P= 0.286, and between female-lamb group and mixed group (P=0.314). Flight initiation distance were significantly different among three types of groups, yet there were no variation between any two types with multiple comparison test (famale-lamb group and male group P= 0.057; female-lamb group and mixed group P= 1.000; male group and mixed group P= 0.097). In mixed group, female individual and male individual had no significant variation in distance of no reaction and vigilance reaction(t=0.112 P= 0.911,t=0.06, P=0.128) while female individual had greater flight intiation distance than male individual(t=2.406, P=0.018).2. The result from multinomial logistic regression showed that among ten variables--disturbance source, distance observed, perpendicular distance, vertical angle, head direction, group size, group type, gender, visibility index, topographical structure, there were five explanatory variables. Topographical structure, head direction, disturbance source, gender and perpendicular distance could explain 56.5% (ajusted Nagelkerke R2=0.56.5, p<0.000) of the observed variation in behaviors decision-made among no responses, vigilance responses and flight responses. We found that blue sheep tended to be more sensitive on highway than on ravine, and felt safest on cliff. When in face of hikers and having the front head orientation, blue sheep responded more actively because the odds of vigilance response and flight response were increasing. Female individual had an increasing probability to flight, but in vigilance response, gender had no effect. Besides, blue sheep decreased the probability of anti-predation behaviors (vigilance and flight) as the perpendicular distance increased.3. The distances of no response, vigilance response and flight response were significantly different between summer and winter(no response Z=-17.057, P= 0.000; vigilance response t=-17.099, P= 0.000; flight response, Z=-17.429, P=0.000). The distances were significantly greater in winter than in summer of all three reactions. In summer, the average visibility index of three responses were 88%, 83%,82%respectively, and in winter, they were 94%,94%,92%, the figures in winter were significantly greater than that in summer respectivly (Z=-5.79 P= 0.000, Z=-6.268 P= 0.000, Z=-7.073, P= 0.000). Yet Spearman correlation indicated that the correlation between reaction distance and visibility index was very weak (for no reaction, r=0.248, P<0.01; for vigilance reaction, r=0.214, P< 0.01; for flight reaction, r=0.209, P<0.01).Suyukou Forest Park attracted much more visitors in summer than winter, however, the reaction distances in summer were significantly nearer than winter, it seemed that blue sheep tended to be adapted to the visitors in summer, therefore were more tolerant to recreation caused by visitors. Further investigation about other factors such as the seasonal variation in food quality and biological periods which were likely to attribute to differing response distance were required henceforth.
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