Counting urban sika deer using spotlight in Hokkaido, Japan
2018
Matsuura, Y. (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) (Japan). Hokkaido Research Center)
Urban deer issues are critical in Sapporo, Japan. Deer occurrence is increasing in the Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center located in the tip of a forest shaped like a cape. It may be an important habitat of urban deer in Sapporo. I conducted spotlight count in the Center to monitor the deer population in forty times between 2010 and 2016, and observed a total of 1,675 deer. The observed number increased from 29-32 deer / month to 68.5 deer / month during study periods, resulting locally high density. The number also seasonally increased between early summer and autumn, corresponding to the occurrence to the downtown. The current countermeasure by electric fences is incompetent. It is necessary to control the deer population to prevent this area from being a source of urban deer in Sapporo.
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