Seasonal and daily walking activity patterns of free-ranging adult red deer (Cervus elaphus) at the individual level

• Published in: European journal of wildlife research 2009, Vol.55 (5), p.479-486
• Main Authors: Pépin, Dominique, Morellet, Nicolas, Goulard, Michel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal migration; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breeding seasons; Deer; Ecology; Environmental conditions; Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Global positioning systems; GPS; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; Mountain regions; Original Paper; Winter; Zoology
• ISSN: 1612-4642; 1439-0574
• DOI: 10.1007/s10344-009-0267-2

We studied the walking activity over the year of free-ranging adult red deer (Cervus elaphus) in a mountainous area with the aim of describing the dynamics of movement patterns at the individual level. We monitored the distance walked by two males and two females fitted with global positioning system collars to test the hypothesis that deer adopt behaviours to reduce costs of locomotion. We predicted that both sexes would travel less in winter when disadvantageous environmental conditions occurred. We also predicted that the males would (1) reduce their movement soon after the rut due to very high energy expenditure during the breeding season and (2) travel less than the females due to their larger body mass. As we expected, minimum walking activity occurred after the rut from November to February for the males and in late February for the females. The walking activity of males peaked during the rut whereas that of females decreased. But compared to males, females moved more both during winter and daylight hours. Although our study stems from just four individuals, these results and the methodology used can be inspirational for red deer research as well as for ungulate research in general.