Ecology of the Himalayan musk deer in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

I studied ecology of Himalayan musk deer in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal from 1986 to 1989. Himalayan musk deer, one of the most primitive and endangered, deer-like ruminants do not bear antlers; but males have well developed, saber-like canine teeth. These deer inhabited ranges from 3000 to 4200 m elevation in Sagarmatha National Park.;Adult females were significantly longer (97.4 vs 92.7 cm; p ;Himalayan musk deer in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal were very selective feeders utilizing mostly easily digestible tree and shrub foliages, flowers and inflorescence, and forbs and fronds during summer. Two species of lichens (Usnea spp.) were very important in winter diets, although deer also consumed dry foliages and forbs. Crude protein in the forages consumed during summer ranged from 13 to 25%, and 3 to 5% during winter. Although lichens contained low crude protein (5.8%), frequency of lichen feeding was very high in winter. Of total foraging time during winter, 52% was spent foraging on lichen compared to 16% during summer. Forages selected by musk deer year round were high in cell solubles ranging from 37% in winter dry foliages to 68% in summer flowers.;Himalayan musk deer were non-migratory. Average home range for males and females were 14 and 13 ha, respectively. Males were highly territorial with no home range overlap, but extensive home range overlap occurred among females.;I developed a modified drive net technique to capture Himalayan musk deer. A total of 16 individuals were captured. I established the doses, and administered a combination of 1.5 mg/kg of 2% Xylazine (Rompun;Seven different habitat types were identified in musk deer range. Habitats most frequented by musk deer were the 'birch and rhododendron forest' and 'dwarf rhododendron shrubs', where arboreal lichens were available during winter.;Habitat preservation and semi-captive population of Himalayan musk deer are recommended.