BEHAVIOURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAPTIVE MALE ALPINE MUSK DEER WITH AND WITHOUT SUCCESSFUL COPULATION

During June 2004 to February 2005, focal sampling and all occurrence method was used to quantify the behavioural patterns of captive male alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus) in Xinglongshan Musk Deer Farm, Gansu Province, China. The objective of this study was to identify the behavioural differences between the males with and without successful copulation in order to find the potential male individuals for reproduction. The results showed that in pre-rut season (between August and October), males with successful copulation demonstrated tail-pasting more frequently than males without successful copulation; during rut season (between November and January next year), the males with successful copulation expressed tail-pasting, locomotor, urinating-defecating and agonistic interaction more frequently while males without successful copulation performed resting and environment sniffing less frequently; the behavioural frequencies of tail-pasting behaviour were significantly different between males with different copulation success during pre-rut and rut season. We thought the behavioural characteristics could be used as reproduction performance indicators of captive male alpine musk deer and concluded that the males with more frequency of tail-pasting could be defined as the potential successfully mating males and should be chosen as the breeding males; the males with low tail-pasting frequency should be excluded from breeding and replaced. The results of this study provided very useful information to increase successful mating and gestation of female musk deer, and reduce the cost of the musk deer farming.