[Behavioral patterns of wild-caught and captive-bred male musk deer]

By the method of focal sampling and continuous recording, a comparative study was made on the behavioral patterns of 23 captive alpine musk deer (Moschus sifanicus) , among which, 17 deer were wild-caught (WC), and 6 deer were captive-bred (CB). The results showed that owing to the same enclosure facilities and managing system, there was no essential difference in the behavioral modes between WC and CB, but WC exhibited more collision behavior than CB (P < 0.05) because of the differences in capture, lactation, and contact with other baby deer. Male deer showed lower bedding (P < 0.05), ingestion (P < 0.05) and ruminating (P < 0.05), but more moving (P < 0.05) at mating season, compared with those at non-mating season. Furthermore, male deer expressed more scent marking through intensive tail-rubbing and urination-defecation, and accordingly, the behaviors of scent collecting such as environment sniffing and anogenital exploring were expressed more stronger, though the differences were not significant (P > 0.05).