Habitat use and activity patterns of sambar (Cervus unicolor) in the Bunyip Sambar Enclosure

The sambar's use of habitat and their activity patterns were studied from April 1991 to September 1992 in the Bunyip Sambar Enclosure, situated on the southern boundary of the Bunyip State Park at Tonimbuk, Victoria. The data collected in this study were supplemented with data collected by members of the Australian Deer Association between 1987 and 1989, and also notes in the caretaker's diary recorded since the study enclosures inception in 1986. The habitat survey identified eight habitat units and recorded over one hundred species of plants. The high population density of sambar within the enclosure had an impact on the vegetation. The major vegetative changes were an increase in saw sedge (Gahnia spp.), and a decrease in the wiry grasses and shrub layer. The latter was caused by rutting stags, often removing the plants completely from the ground with their antlers. Data has been collected to allow a more detailed study of the sambar's impact on the vegetation. The mean distance travelled per hour by the deer was similar to that recorded by sambar in Florida, however the radio-triangulation method was not accurate enough for a more detailed study of movement. Antler casting was found to occur in summer, and the following four month antler growth period was the only restriction on the breeding season of the sambar. The sambar stags cast annually. Estimates of the gestation period are variable, but average 258 days. No evidence of twinning has been recorded. Calves were found to follow the `hider' pattern of antipredator behaviour during their first month of life. Cover was found to be very important to the sambar in three different forms: hiding cover for the calves, thermal cover to give protection from the extremes of heat and cold, and shelter from the wind which has an adverse effect on the deer's senses