2011 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 121-126
By examining histologically prepared sections of incisor teeth, we aged 698 sika deer that were harvested on the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, between December 2007 and April 2010. We found a disproportionate lack of animals aged 5 years old and younger, particularly those born in 2004 and 2005, in samples from Cape Shiretoko and Rausu on the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula. Winterkill counts in the area suggest that the overwinter climate was the main source of mortality. This pattern was less pronounced in other parts of the peninsula, likely due to differences in overwinter carrying capacities within the study area.
