Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy

Abstract:

Thirty-nine Père David's deer that were reintroduced into China in 1986 were monitored for 30 years to record population demographic parameters. There were 3,223 individual Père David's deer in 2016, with 325 living in the wild and 2,898 living in an enclosure. The captive and wild deer population density was 3.319/hm2 and 0.325/hm2, respectively. As previous research reported the maximum density of Père David's deer is 0.375/hm2, so the captive population exceeded the theoretical maximum sustainable density. The birth and mortality rates varied significantly between the captive and wild deer. The relationship between captive Père David's deer population density and birth rate was significant and negative. There was no relationship between wild Père David's deer population density and birth rate, but there was a significant positive association between mortality and density. Thus, density dependence does not seem to operate on the birth rate of wild populations of Père David's deer. Traffic was the main source of mortality in wild population. Results suggest that ex situ reintroduction is a reasonable strategy to gradually expand distribution of Père David's deer in regions that remain suitable for wild deer to survive and reproduce.