Owing to poor breeding success in captive alpine musk deer, an understanding of the behavioral patterns of muskdeer in captivity is important. This study was conducted from June 2004 to January 2005 at the Xinglongsha...Owing to poor breeding success in captive alpine musk deer, an understanding of the behavioral patterns of muskdeer in captivity is important. This study was conducted from June 2004 to January 2005 at the Xinglongshan MuskDeer Farm, which is located within Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, China. Focal samplingand continuous recording were used to observe the behaviors of 51 female alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus),42 of which had completed a single estrus cycle and nine of which had completed two or more estrus cycles. Allanimals were adults that had been born and raised in captivity. The durations of 12 behaviors, including environmentalsniffing, moving and feeding, were recorded during the non-breeding seasons and behavioral patterns werecompared. The behavioral patterns of females that had completed a single estrus cycle and females that hadcompleted multiple estrus cycles were compared to assess potential behavioral differences. The results showed thatfemales who had only one complete estrus cycle demonstrated more resting behavior, but less feeding and locomotorbehavior than females who had completed multiple estrus cycles. Furthermore, single estrus cycle femalesdemonstrated tail-rubbing during the breeding season. The results may yield useful information that can be used indeveloping better musk deer farming practices.展开更多
基金the Nature Science Foundation of China(No.30500060,No.30640023 and No.30770286)the China Post-doctoral Foundation(2005038431)the“985 Research Projects”(CUN 985-03-03)of the Central University for Nationalities of China。
文摘Owing to poor breeding success in captive alpine musk deer, an understanding of the behavioral patterns of muskdeer in captivity is important. This study was conducted from June 2004 to January 2005 at the Xinglongshan MuskDeer Farm, which is located within Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, China. Focal samplingand continuous recording were used to observe the behaviors of 51 female alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus),42 of which had completed a single estrus cycle and nine of which had completed two or more estrus cycles. Allanimals were adults that had been born and raised in captivity. The durations of 12 behaviors, including environmentalsniffing, moving and feeding, were recorded during the non-breeding seasons and behavioral patterns werecompared. The behavioral patterns of females that had completed a single estrus cycle and females that hadcompleted multiple estrus cycles were compared to assess potential behavioral differences. The results showed thatfemales who had only one complete estrus cycle demonstrated more resting behavior, but less feeding and locomotorbehavior than females who had completed multiple estrus cycles. Furthermore, single estrus cycle femalesdemonstrated tail-rubbing during the breeding season. The results may yield useful information that can be used indeveloping better musk deer farming practices.
