Observations on rutting behaviour of Hangul Deer Cervus elaphus hanglu (Cetartiodactyla: Cervidae) in Dachigam National Park, Kashmir, India

Authors

  • B.A. Bhat
  • G.M. Shah
  • U. Jan
  • F.A. Ahangar
  • M.F Fazili

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2125.355-7

Abstract

Observations on seasonal rutting behaviour of Hangul Deer Cervus elaphus hanglu were recorded in Dachigam National Park (DNP) during the years 2005 to 2007. A total of 24 breeding herds were seen. The size of the herd varied from 2-5, and usually comprised of one large stag and one or more hinds. The rutting season commenced in the main valley of lower Dachigam by late September and extended up to the first week of November. The peak was from October 9 to 20. The stags in rut became intolerant of each other and separated. The most conspicuous feature of the rut was the reverberating resonant roars by stags. The courtship behaviour was observed on six occasions and only mature stags (8-tined and above) were involved in courtship. Various anthropogenic activities in the habitat were found to impair the rutting behaviour of deer.

Downloads

Published

26-06-2009

Issue

Vol 1, No 6 (2009)

Section

Notes

License

Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT.  This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership.  Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.