Diurnal changes in frequencies of the loud rut call “howl” of sika deer in Nara Park and Kinkazan Island

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  • MINAMI Masato
    Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University

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  • 奈良公園と金華山におけるニホンジカの発情声Howlの頻度の日周変化
  • ナラ コウエン ト キン カザン ニ オケル ニホンジカ ノ ハツジョウ セイ Howl ノ ヒンド ノ ニッシュウ ヘンカ

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<p>Diurnal changes in the frequencies of howl, the loudest rut call of male sika deer (Cervus nippon), were studied in Nara Park, Nara City, western Japan, and in Kinkazan Island, northeast Japan. In Nara Park, the howl was recorded from September to March during the year, with the highest number in November and peaks in frequency near the sunrise and sunset with smaller peaks at night. In Kinkazan Island, surveys were carried out from the end of August to the beginning of November, with the howl being significantly abundant in the beginning and middle of October and it reaching peaks near the sunset. The population density was approximately 440 animals/km2 in Nara Park and 140 animals/km2 in Kinkazan Island. The highest frequency of howl was 26 times/hour in Nara Park and 12 times/hour in Kinkazan Island. Dividing the highest frequency of howl in Nara Park and Kinkazan by their respective population densities, the ratios were 0.06 times/hour/animals/km2 for Nara Park and 0.09 times/hour/animals/km2 for Kinkazan Island, with the ratio for Kinkazan being 1.5 times higher than that for Nara Park, which has a lower population density.</p>

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