Home Range Use by a Male Siberian Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus L.) in Central Sikhote-Alin

A male Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus L.) in Central Sikhote-Alin maintains a small, consistent home range (1.02–1.1 km²) with a core activity area where it spends over 84% of its time. This behavior is driven by social dynamics, including interactions with neighboring males and the distribution of females, rather than food availability, which exceeds dietary needs by 60–300 times. The study, conducted from 2014 to 2015 using snow tracking, radiotracking, and habitat analysis, revealed that musk deer movements form a structured pattern with 'patrolling belts' and a central system linking activity cores, aligning with terrain and plant community boundaries. These findings highlight the importance of social factors in shaping territorial behavior and movement strategies in this species.

Zaitsev, V. A., Maksimova, D. A., Smirnov, Yu. V., & Belotelov, N. V. (2021). Home Range Use by a Male Siberian Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus L.) in Central Sikhote-Alin. Biology Bulletin, 48(9), 1631–1649. https://doi.org/10.1134/s1062359021090247