Social Organization and Habitat Use of Japanese Serow in Kasabori

Abstract

The social organization and habitat use of Japanese serow (Capri-cornis crispus) were studied in Kasabori, Niigata Prefecture from July 1970 to October 1974. Through the observation of 17 identifiable serows, 4 social units were classified. The pair, consisting of a male and a female, was formed from late autumn to early winter and maintained till parturition in late May and early June of the next year. The family, consisting of a pair and its young, appeared after parturition and was maintained till early autumn when the male left. Then, the mother-child group appeared, and lasted till the next summer. Members of those units did not necessarily act together. In a family and a pair, a male took a role as a leader. The solitary was also observed. Although several serows moved in or out of the study area in early summer and autumn, they each stayed in a certain area when their social bonds were maintained. Home range sizes were also calculated; they apparently enlarged as members were added. Vegetation communities, found on thirteen home ranges, were oak shrubbery, Japanese white pine forest, grassland and rocky ground; the first and the second were essential habitats. Since chases after intruders and signpost behavior were observed, the possibility exists that serows are territorial.