Home range of sika deer (Cervus nippon) on Mt. Ohdaigahara, central Japan
2000
Maeji, I. (Nagoya Univ. (Japan)) | Kurosaki, T. | Yokoyama, S. | Shibata, E.
Mt. Ohdaigahara on the Kii Peninsula in central Japan is a major habitat of sika deer (Cervus Nippon). Recently, the sika deer population has increased and tree barking has become a serious problem, resulting in dieback of damaged conifers. To estimate the home range of sika deer on Mt. Ohdaigahara, we used radio collars to track six females and four males. The mean home range sizes (=+-SD) were 76.0 (=+-27.7) ha and 211.3 (=+-152.4) ha for females and males, respectively, suggesting that females are sedentary and have smaller ranges than males. Some males changed their home ranges from the capture and release points. The deer tended to increase their ranges in winter and reduce in spring. Although the deer showed no seasonal changes in range size and location, some shifted their ranges to the surrounding snow-free south and east areas in winter.
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