The Effect of Rearing Experience on the Behavior Patterns of Captive Male Alpine Musk Deer

摘要

The effects of maternal and peer separation during infancy were studied on adult male alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus) at Xinglongshan Musk Deer Farm (XMDF) in Gansu province, China. The aim was to determine the effect of early experience on the behavior in adult deer. Doe Reared (DR) males remained with their mothers for a minimum of 3 months, prior to weaning which occurred annually in early October. Hand Reared (HR) males were removed from their parents before 3 weeks of age and reared in isolation, prior to weaning. Focal sampling was conducted on twenty two adult males (13 HR; 9 DR) to record the frequencies of 12 behavioral categories; resting, standing-alert, locomotion, ruminating, tail-pasting, urinating/defecating, environmental sniffing, self-directed behavior, ano-genital sniffing, affinitive interaction and agonistic interaction. The results showed that HR male musk deer demonstrate significantly more agonistic and less affinitive behavior when compared to DR males. This may be owing to the separation of HR deer from their peers and mother, in addition to proportionally greater contact with human caretakers. The results of this study have implication for musk deer farming.