Studies On Ethology Of Captive Forest Musk Deer (Moschus Berezovskii) In Chongming Island

Forest Musk Deer is a protective animal in first class in our country.It has greatly important economic value because it can secrete musk.It was more than 50 years for domesticating Musk Deer in our country,but the quantity of captive Musk Deer did not grow up.The product of musk can not meet the requirement of the market.The research of animal behavior is a basic work of domesticating wild animal.The research of behavior of Musk Deer has important effect on individual livability, species-growing up and the administration and protection of domesticating of Musk Deer.This dissertation did behavioral research on four aspect,ethogram,behavioral time budget and frequencies,behavioral rhythm and behavioral diversity.It gave advice for the development of captive Musk Deer.Fourteen captive adult Forest Musk Deer(9♀5♂)around 3-4 years old were observed from February 2006 to February 2007 in the Dongping Musk Deer Farm of the Chongming Island,Shanghai.For observation,the cinematograph with infrared was used for recording a continuous cycle of 24 hours.Focal sampling and all-occurrences recording were used for data sampling of the video recording.A total of 59 different kinds of behaviors were identified and grouped into eight behavioral types according by physiology,i.e.feeding behavior,locomotive behavior,resting behavior,social behavior,breeding behavior,parental behavior,maintenance behavior and elimination behavior.The behavioral time budget and frequencies of feeding behavior,locomotive behavior, resting behavior,social behavior,maintenance behavior and elimination behavior were analyzed in the dissertation.The results showed as following text.There were significant differences between day and night separately on resting behavior,feeding behavior,locomotive behavior.The resting behavior was the main behavior of the captive Musk Deer.The feeding behavior happened both in day and night.In spring and winter,the time ratio and frequency of feeding behavior wereboth higher at night than they at day.In spring,autumn and winter,the time ratio and frequency of locomotive behavior were both higher at night than they at day.There was an opposite situation in summer.In summer,the time ratio and frequency of locomotive behavior were both higher at day than at night.The time ratio of locomotive behavior was the lowest in summer in four season,and the differences were significant.Summer is very hot and the high temperature had much effect on the locomotive behavior of Musk Deer.High temperature in summer caused the disorder of the behavior of Musk Deer. The time ratio and frequency of six behaviors of Musk Deer were compared between female and male.The result shows that the time ratio of the resting behavior of both male and female Musk Deer were lower in breeding season(autumn and winter)than they in no-breeding season(spring and summer).In spring,summer and autumn, female deer spent more time in resting behavior than male.In winter,female deer spent less time in resting behavior than male.Science the female was pregnant in spring and suckling fawn in summer,they needed more energy than male.The male used much energy and nutrition in mating season,so they needed energy after mating season.In summer both female and male Musk Deer were enclosed in small enclosure of 4×6m.The time ratio of locomotive behavior was the lowest in whole year.In autumn,Musk Deer was in mating season,both female and male Musk Deer were enclosed in big enclosure of 25×25m,the time ratio of locomotive behavior of them were nearly same.The size of the environment of enclosure did have effect on the locomotive behavior.The time rhythm of feeding behavior,locomotive behavior,resting behavior and activity behavior were compared among four seasons.The result shows that Musk Deer had two peak of feeding behavior in a whole day.The first was at dawn and the second was at dusk.The time ratio of feeding behavior was higher at night than it at daytime.This phenomenon had no effect with the captive domesticating.Musk Deer remain the part of habit of feeding in wild.Despite the summer,in spring,autumn and winter,the peak of locomotive behavior which happened at dawn was the same time which was one hour and a half before the sunrise till the sunrise.The other peak of locomotive behavior which happened at dusk was the same time which was one hour before sunset till the sunset.It can be concluded that the rhythm of the locomotive behavior was infected by the factor of the turn of the day and night.It has correlation with the time of sunrise and sunset.The difference of the time of sunrise and sunset among seasons was the one of the main factors of the difference of locomotive peak among seasons.In summer dusk,the locomotive peak of Musk Deer moved up at 15:00 p.m.The shape of the peak was double peaks not the single peak.And the absolute value of the peak was the lowest among other three seasons.The high temperature not only depressed the locomotive time of Musk Deer but also disturbed the rhythm of the locomotive behavior.The abnormally high temperature also was the factor of behavioral rhythm.The resting peak of Musk Deer happened from 9:00 to 14:00 every day.The figure of resting rhythm was in low vale at dawn and dusk.In spring and winter,the rhythm of activity behavior had two peaks at dawn and dusk.In summer,the peak moved up to the afternoon.In autumn,the peak at dawn was lost. Musk Deer had the sub-peak in midnight except the two peaks at dawn and dusk.The temperature was also the factor which caused the difference of the rhythm of activity behavior among seasons.The method of Shannon-index was used to calculate the index of behavioral diversity. It can supply the new proof to judge the enrichment of animal behavior.The index of behavioral diversity of Musk Deer was compared between day and night,female and male,and among four seasons in the dissertation.The results showed that there was no significant difference of index of behavioral diversity between day and night, female and male.There was significant difference of index of behavioral diversity among four seasons.The index of behavioral diversity in spring was the highest among four seasons.The index of behavioral diversity of forest Musk Deer in Chongming island was higher than it of alpine Musk Deer in Xinglong mountain.The differences of captive environment and the pattern of the domesticating were two main factors effect on animal behavioral diversity.