Red deer Cervus elephus vigilance behaviour differs with habitat and type of human disturbance

Abstract

Abstract Red deer Cervus elaphus, even in wilderness areas, are increasingly exposed to disturbance from human recreation as well as hunting, and it has been suggested that both types of disturbance may be perceived as a predation risk. We studied the vigilance behaviour of red deer in the Scottish Highlands, in sites with traditionally high numbers of visitors (‘disturbed’) and sites with relatively few visitors (‘less-disturbed’) during the main recreational season (spring and summer), and in their mating grounds during the hunting season (autumn and winter). We carried out direct observations, using scan sampling at 3-minute intervals for 1-hour periods, and recorded the number of animals in each group that were vigilant and their mode of vigilance. During the recreational season, in both the disturbed and less-disturbed sites, data were collected in habitats with different levels of cover (grassland, heather and woodland). The percentage of animals that were vigilant was higher in disturbed than in le...