Reintroduction Planning Of Forest Musk Deer And Habitat Selection Research In Release Site

Forest musk deer(Moschus berezovskii) belongs to Artiodactyla, Moschidae, Moschus, and it is endemic to East Asia’s economic wild animals. The secretion from the male preputial gland is rare traditional Chinese medicine and the important material for manufacturing high-grade perfume. Generally, Forest musk deer population quantities and distribution areas had been declining because of over-hunting and habitat destruction.Reintroduction from artificial breeding Forest musk deer is a beneficial supplement to wild populations. In the light of the National Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Construction Master Plan and relevant national policy, the Reintroduction Program of the Forest musk deer was planned under the Wildlife Management Objectives and Guidelines for Reintroductions by IUCN. The Program contained the following aspects, which were its aims, design, protection and management measures, scientific monitoring, guarantee measures, risk assessment and efficiency analysis. Program implementation will supplement individuals to wild populations in Taibaishan Nature Reserve, achieving the rejuvenation to wild populations; meanwhile, the experience and data from program implementation can provide theoretical guidance and technical support for reintroduction of Forest musk deer.It is an important step to select the releasing areas of Forest musk deer. Taibaishan Nature Reserve is native to Forest musk deer in Qinling Mountains. Therefore, it is well to make the Forest musk deer adapt the enviroment if the release work develops at this area. To grasp the habitat characteristics in release sites, the transect and quadrat method were used to investigate the habitat of Forest musk deer in Taibai Mountain during the winter of 2014 and 2015, and infrared camera trap technology was supplemented to monitor Forest musk deer and its sympatric species. The results showed that the Forest musk deer mainly distributed in middle-high altitude areas in winter, and deciduous broad leaved forest and coniferous and broad mixed forest with medium shrub cover and canopy; and it inhabited in the steep slope of the middle-upper slope and selected the habitat with middle sheltering condition and far away from human disturbance. Principal component analysis suggested that altitude, food, terrain, sheltering and heat factor in turn played a major role in winter habitat selection. The general pattern of winter habitat selection of Forest musk deer is an adaptive strategy in Taibaishan National Nature Reserve, which includes altitude, food, terrain and sheltering condition characteristics.To sum up, based on the analysis of the public policy of retroduction plan of rare animals and wild populations resource of Forest musk deer, combined with the condition of Qinfeng Forest Musk Deer Breeding Farm, Reintroduction Program of Forest musk deer is formulated for realizing wild populations supplement. Based on the analysis of the habitat selection characteristics of Forest musk deer in Taibaishan National Nature Reserve, we indicated that the pattern of habitat selection was response to habitat suitability.