Female sika deer fidelity to migration route and seasonal ranges in eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

We examined fidelity to seasonal migration routes and seasonal ranges of 10 migratory female sika deer Cervus nippon yesoensis (9 adults and 1 fawn) in eastern Hokkaido, Japan (April 1997–May 2001). Six deer did not change migration routes among years and between fall and spring migrations. Three deer used different routes between fall and spring migrations, but did not change migration routes among years in each season. When some deer changed winter ranges in some years, these ranges were located along the migration routes. These findings do indicate that migratory female sika deer show high fidelity to migration routes.