Comparative Study on the Social Behavior of Sambar Deer (Rusa Unicolor) in Three Selected Captive Facilities in Peninsular Malaysia

Sambar deer was up-listed from Least Concern to Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list in 2015. The local government has initiated Ex-situ conservation efforts to boost sambar deer numbers in captivity and reintroduce them into the wild. The reproductive success of sambar deer and their welfare management practices in captivity are important components for effective captive breeding programs. However, there has been a lack of study on sambar deer in recent years, especially about their behavior in captivity. This study aimed to identify environmental factors that may influence the behavior of the captive sambar. Three captive sites were selected and observed for an average of 40 days at each site (minimum 37 days to maximum 43 days, 6 hours/day). A Generalized Linear Model was used to determine the correlation between social behavior and extrinsic parameters. ‘Captive sites’ showed the strongest correlation in behavioral variability environmental settings, such as the size of the enclosure, could force the deer to spend more time in a herd, which increases the frequency in grooming, which was recorded to be highest in Zoo Negara compared to other captive sites. Time of day also significantly influenced certain behavior skewed towards morning slots. It could be due to an adaptive behavior to the feeding time in the captive sites being often in the morning, which caused the deer to rest towards the afternoon. A suggestion would be to create a more erratic feeding schedule to ensure that the deer adapt to behavior variations. An extensive study needs to be done on sambar deer to pinpoint the specifics and better understand these possible influential factors in their behavior.

The Increase of Sumatran Tiger’s Prey Following Eradication of Melastoma malabatrichum in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia

The invasion of the planter's rhododendron (Melastoma malabatrichum) in Way Kambas National Park caused the loss of the sumatran tiger preys feeding ground, therefore efforts were made to eradicate the plant. This study aimed to compare the presence of sumatran tiger preys between M. malabatrichum-invaded location and eradicated location. Eradication was carried out by removing M. malabatrichum on a plot measuring 80 x 60 m2. To record the animal visit, the camera traps were placed at the eradicated and invaded location of M. malabatrichum for comparison. The results showed that the M. malabatrichum eradicated location was more frequently visited by sumatran tiger preys. At the M. malabatrichum eradicated location, camera traps recorded 19 species of wild boar having the highest encounter rate (55.23) followed by sambar deer (33.24), and long-tailed macaque (17.43). Meanwhile, at the M. malabatrichum invaded location, camera traps recorded 13 species with wild boar having the highest encounter rate (30.56), followed by sambar deer (14.75), and long-tailed macaque (14.48). Thus, the eradication of M. malabatrichum had a good impact on increasing the number of sumatran tiger preys due to the availability of feed after being free from M. malabatrichum invasion.

POLA PENGGUNAAN RUANG DAN WAKTU RUSA SAMBAR (Rusa unicolor) DI RAGUNAN

Daily activities are all activities carried out by animals daily starting from the morning out of the nest until late in the evening and back again to the nest. This study aims to determine the activity pattern of sambar deer (Rusa unicolor). This observation was carried out at the Ragunan zoo which was carried out in 3 stages, namely morning, afternoon and evening. This study observed the patterns of time use and space use observed in sambar deer with 5 age class categories, namely adult males, adult females, young males and young females. The results of the research obtained from the activity of the sambar deer in the morning, namely the allocation of time for daily activities in the morning for each different age class, the allocation of time for feeding, moving, and resting activities during the daytime period for each individual age class of the deer is different and the time allocation for daily activities in the afternoon for each age class is different. Most of the sambar deer in Ragunan prefer to be in the grass below the stands for their activities. Time allocation (time budget) for sambar deer in age class and sex is influenced by the time of activity (morning-afternoon-evening).

Spatial Modeling of Forage Crops for Tiger Prey Species in the Area Surrounding Highway 304 in the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex

Spatial modeling is an analytical procedure that simulates real-world conditions using remote sensing and geographic information systems. The field data in this study were collected from 318 survey plots in the area surrounding highway 304 in the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex (DPKY-FC) during the 2019 rainy season. Forage-crop biomass was collected from all plots. We focused on sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) and gaur (Bos gaurus), which are the main prey for tigers in this area. We created spatial models using generalized linear models with stepwise regression. The results indicated that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) varied directly with grass biomass but inversely with shrub biomass (p<0.05). Elevation varied directly with forb biomass but inversely with shrub biomass (p<0.05). The probability of occurrence of sambar deer varied directly with distance from disturbance variables, distance from the stream, and grass biomass (p<0.001), but inversely with NDVI (p<0.05). The occurrence of gaur varied directly with NDVI (p=0.08), but varied inversely with slope, distance from the road, and distance from the stream (p<0.05). Our results demonstrate that spatial modeling can be an effective tool for wildlife habitat management in the area surrounding highway 304.