1. Timing and synchrony of parturition in Alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus)
- Creator:
- Meng, Xiuxiang, Yang, Qisen, Feng, Zuojian, Xia, Lin, Jiang, Yingwen, and Wang, Peiming
- Type:
- article and TEXT
- Subject:
- Alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus], parturition, captive, and wild
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Between 1997 and 2001, the birth dates of free living and captive Alpine musk deer were examined to determine fawning patterns, and discuss potential influencing factors. In the wild, parturition shows strong seasonality, and occurred in three months from May to July, most of the births (75%) occurring within a 27 day period. Environmental seasonality, including the climate and forage availability, plays the major role in determining the timing of births in wild musk deer. Similarly, fawning in captivity shows constancy between years and seasonality, although with later initiation and a longer season than in the wild, influenced by an environmental seasonality of relatively lower intensity. More detailed differences in fawning patterns were observed in different rows of enclosures, resulting from differences in human care, and intensified by the social interaction among individuals within a row of enclosures. Although the fawning pattern is not strongly related to age of the captives, an individual’s reproductive history seemed to influence fawning timing and synchrony, and the birth date is not strongly related to the survival of the newborn.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/