Abstract
Hustai National Park in Mongolia became a refuge for takhi Equus ferus przewalskii, a wild horse native to central Asia, in 1992. Wild takhi became extinct in the wild in the 1960s, although there was a small captive population in European zoos that was used to repopulate Hustai National Park. This park is also inhabited by red deer Cervus elaphus, which may compete with takhi for food. We analyzed the fecal composition and habitat use of takhi and red deer. Takhi mainly foraged on grasses in the steppe, while red deer foraged on grasses and dicots in the forest. The percentage similarity (PS) of foods was 65% in summer and 58% in winter. There does not appear to be competition for food or habitat between these species because both diets and the habitat selection were different. We discuss some management implications and emphasize the importance of integrated management of the refuge.
Highlights
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Fiber was greater in the red deer feces (15.7%) than in the takhi feces (3.8%, U = 3.78, df = 1, p < 0.001)
We compared habitat selection and food habits of takhi which were introduced into Hustai National Park (HNP) in 1992 from zoos in Europe and native red deer
Summary
BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Hustai National Park in Mongolia became a refuge for takhi Equus ferus przewalskii, a wild horse native to central Asia, in 1992. Wild takhi became extinct in the wild in the 1960s, there was a small captive population in European zoos that was used to repopulate Hustai National Park. This park is inhabited by red deer Cervus elaphus, which may compete with takhi for food. The Hustai National Park (HNP) is not an ungulatefree reserve Rather, it is inhabited by another ungulate, the red deer Cervus elaphus, which is native to Mongolia. The license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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