Females presence and males agonistic encounters in fallow deer, Dama dama, during the rut
2007
Fricova, B.,Karlova Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Katedra Zoologie | Bartos, L.,Vyzkumny Ustav Zivocisne Vyroby, Prague (Czech Republic) | Bartosova, J.,Vyzkumny Ustav Zivocisne Vyroby, Prague (Czech Republic) | Panama, J.,Vyzkumny Ustav Zivocisne Vyroby, Prague (Czech Republic) | Sustr, P.,Sprava Narodniho Parku a Chranene Krajinne Oblasti Sumava, Kasperske Hory (Czech Republic) | Jozifkova, E.,Karlova Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Katedra Antropologie
Similarly to other Cervidae, conflicts and fights are frequent during the rut of fallow deer. The part of does during buck encounters was examined in this study. Encounters between adult bucks were recorded during the rut. The numbers of encounters with and without females present were nearly equal with similar proportions of encounters when females accompanied one or both of the males. Fighting occurred in 39.5% of the encounters only. Female presence seemed to have a negligible effect on the probability of an encounter between two bucks ecalating into a fight. However, fights tended to escalate more frequently when there were no females present than when females were present. Vocalizations were recorded in most encounters and occurred irrespectively of female presence/absence. Bucks were more likely to engage with conspecific with female consorts. When both opponents had female consorts with them, the probability of desertion of the females was significantly lower than when the male had some females while his opponent did not. Results in this study suggest that the presence of females did not affect male agonistic behaviour during the rut.
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