Home Range Shift and Dispersal of Red Deer: Implications for Establishing Nature Reserve Networks in China

Abstract

The establishment of nature reserves is critical for saving endangered wild animal species, however, most of the reserves are separated by human settlements in China. It is unknown that how those animals inside the reserve adapted to the isolated environment in habitat use and dispersal. We studied red deer seasonal home range and dispersal by radio-tracking from 2006 to 2011 at Saihanwula Biosphere Reserve, Inner Mongolia. The results showed that home range sizes of female deer had seasonal differences with the smallest range in autumn and largest in spring which was different from home range variation of red deer in Europe. Home ranges overlapped between female deer, particularly in autumn and winter seasons. A young male showed dispersal behavior, several times during dispersal period it tried to find suitable habitat outside of the reserve. Our results indicated that a connected nature reserve network is needed to protect wild ungulates in China.