Abstract
We investigated the seasonal and daily changes of home ranges of two adult female sika deer (Cervus nippon) using GPS collars. Their positions were measured every three hours per day over a total of 392 days and 372 days for each deer, respectively. Their annual home ranges were about 43.7 ha and 16.3 ha and included forests and the rice fields. No significant differences in seasonal changes were found in their home ranges. Seasonal core areas determined by the 50% fixed kernel method for deer No. 1 were located in rice fields in most seasons, and those for deer No. 2 were located in rice fields except in summer. Nocturnal core areas at 00:00 and 03:00 of both deer as determined by the 50% fixed kernel method were located in rice fields, while diurnal core areas at 12:00 and 15:00 were located in forests. These results suggest that both adult female deer did not move widely in all seasons, but rather moved between forests and rice fields during the day. Moreover, according to the positions of home ranges and core areas, dependence on crop lands seems to be high.
