Reproductive Behavior of Captive Chital Deer in Australia: Seasonal Changes and a Comparison of Activity During Restricted and Unrestricted Mating Periods

Abstract

The behavior of captive chital (Axis axis) stags and hinds in Australia was observed. Activity profiles were recorded for 6 to 12 h every week over 1 year. The oldest and dominant stag spent 10.5% of his time throughout the year engaged in rutting activities, which was significantly more than the younger stags, who spent 2.6% to 5.3% of their time engaged in such activities. Hinds in estrus were mostly (70%) attended by the dominant stag. Rutting was significantly less intense than that of seasonal breeders and was dispersed throughout the year, with two major peaks of activity—one in August/September coincident with a birth peak and prior to antler casting, and the second coinciding with antler hardening early in the year. In a separate study of the same deer, a dominant stag (6 years old) and a subordinate stag (2 years old) were joined with 35 hinds for 6 weeks, after 5 months of separation. The mating activity of this herd was compared with that during unrestricted mating. During unrestricted mating, when there was rarely more than one hind in estrus at a time, there was no evidence of harem formation or of any other mating strategy. However, signs of harem formation were evident during the 6-week restricted mating period. Adaptation is therefore apparent in the mating strategy of the chital stag, and can be made use of to increase mating efficiency so that many hinds may be mated within several days. The time spent courting a hind was reduced from at least 1 day during unrestricted mating, to less than 10h during restricted mating. During the short mating period, aggression and homosexual activities were frequent between the hinds, but were rare during unrestricted mating.