Territorial behavior of the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) was studied in Kusoudomari, Wakinosawa Village, Aomori Prefecture, from March 1976 to December 1982. Inhabited ranges of adult males and females were overlapped in many cases, and males expelled other males, and females did the same, all the year around. Severe chase of a serow against an intruder was often observed. This behavior has been seen as a male against a male, a female against a female, an adult male against a male yearling, and an adult female against a two year old female in cases when they encountered with others in their own home range overlapped with others. This sort of chase has not been seen between an adult male and a female, an adult male and a female yearling, and an adult female and a male yearling if they en-countered in similar situations. Consequently it seems that territorial exclusion only appears against other serow of identical sex. Serows' territory exists bascally for protecting their own feeding areas, and for keeping stable pair-bond. They do not show tendency of having a united territory of family like groups or pairs. Territorial protection and dispersal of youngs away from it might be for stability of serow's population density.

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Ecological survey of Japanese serow by the block count and the identification method was made in Wakinosawa Village, Aomori Prefecture from October 1975 to March 1977. Densities of serows obtained by the block count were 10.2-10.9 head/km²from July to December 1976. Further it increased to 15.6 head/km²in March 1977. This remarkable increase was probably caused by immigration from the surrounding area, because of the changes of food availabilities in the snow season. This higher density than the other results in Japan, was seemingly caused by high carrying capacity of this area where foods and covers were rich and by the geographical obstruction of the sea, surrounding this area in two directions, to the dispersal of the animals. Sightings of singles and mother-child units, both being were basic social units of this species, were abundantly gotten, but serow associations with more than three head were rarely seen. Maximum group size was recorded four. Group size of this species was probably independent upon the density changes of, at least, 5.2-15.6 head/km². Adultfawn ratio changed from 21.4 to 63.6%.

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New visual methods, the identification method and the block count, for counting serows (Capricornis crispus), were tested in Wakinosawa Village, Shimokita Peninsular, Aomori Prefecture from October 1975 to December 1976. Accuracy of the block count was related to seasonal changes of visibility of the study area and by the size of count unit, and was checked by“n-s”curve, representing the relation between number of serows counted and average size of count units; the count units smaller, higher the accuracy. Visibility was affected by plant development, defoliation, and snow accumulation. The highest accuracy was gotten in less than 5 ha unit size in summer and in less than 10 ha unit size after defoliation. In the identification method, both the minimum and maximum numbers of serows were estimated, and the actual number was probably near their median. In Mt. Gange and its vicinity, 225 ha in size, serow density was about 9.8 head per km²in average by the block count, and in the extended area of 500 ha in size, including the above area, it was about 7.0 head per km²in average by the identification method.

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Pair-bond and mother-offspring relationships of Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) were studied in Kusoudomari, Wakinosawa Village, Aomori Prefecture from March 1976 to December 1982. In most cases home ranges of a male, a female and its youngs were overlapped each other, and the pair-bond and family like group among them were clearly recognizable. Ten dispersals (male 4, female 6) of youngs to establish a new home range were observed during from twenty-four to fifty months after their births. Aggressive behaviour of mother to its offsprings to drive them out of its home range was not recorded. In some cases, severe chases of adult male to two-year-old male in the same family like group which seemed to expell young out the home range were observed. But on the other hand non-agonistic interactions between them were commonly seen in similar circumstances. Dispersals of offspring were thought to be young's voluntary preference primarily. Affinitive relation between a pair were maintained for years regardless of which rutting season (September-November) or non-rutting season (February-June) . Both male and female live a solitary life and they need not any others' help for territory defence, protection against enemies and nursing. Pair-bond and family like group of serows were thought to be a secondary social relationships rather than essential units in their social structure.

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