Feeding Preference and Daily Activities of Deer (Axis axis Erxl. 1777) in the Captivity of Wari Park, South Sumatra Province

Abstract

Deer (Axis axis) are often cultivated in captivity of city park because they can be used to add population in natural habitats, beautifying city parks and as regional tourism objects. The success factors in deer breeding depend on the providing of the type of feed they like with a sufficient quantity of feed to produce a healthy deer generation. Status of a deer health is also determined by the understanding of the manager about the dynamics of their daily activities in captivity. This study aims to determine the preference of spotted deer on several types of feed given and their daily activities in captivity. The types of feed given were city vegetable wastes such as sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), long beans (Vigna sinensis), bananas (Musa paradisiaca) and others in the form of grasses, rice bran. The study was conducted from May to July 2015 in Wari Park Captivity, Lahat City. The study of feed preferences used the Neu method. Nine individuals (3 adult males, 3 adult females and 3 juveniles) were given five kinds of food. The results showed that spotted deers more preferred bananas and sweet potatoes with preference index w> 1 than rice bran, long beans and grasses (w <1). The higher daily activities of Axis axis in captivity were resting (42.92%), moving or locomotion (26.30%), and eating (22.89%), while the lower activities were social activity (1,04%), faecal disposal (1.09%), Agonistic (2.37%) and grooming