Abstract
The sika deer has been extinct in Yamagata Prefecture since the early 20th century. However, it was witnessed again in 2008 and afterwards. To clarify the origin of the sika deer re-appearance in Yamagata Prefecture, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA control region haplotype of four road-kill deer that were collected in Murayama, Tsuruoka and Oguni. The haplotype of one individual was similar to a genotype previously found in a local population in the Kitakami mountains. On the other hand, the haplotypes of the other three individuals were closely related to genotypes reported for local populations distributed in the area west of northern Kanto. These results indicate that the sika deer in Yamagata Prefecture originated from at least two localities, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures and the area south of Yamagata, possibly by long-distance dispersal.
