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Influence of human activities on the activity patterns of Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Central Japan

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Abstract

Human ageing and population decline in Japan are causing agricultural field abandonment and providing new habitats for Japanese sika deer and wild boar. These species have expanded their distribution and increased in abundance across Japan and are causing increased agricultural damage. Effective countermeasures must factor in the behavioural flexibility of sika deer and wild boar. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of hunting and indirect human activities on the activity patterns of sika deer in central Japan and compare these with previous findings on wild boar. Camera traps were used to observe activity patterns of both species and that of humans. Sika deer and wild boar were most active at night during the non-hunting season. Hunting activities significantly reduced sika deer and wild boar activity patterns. In the non-hunting season, nocturnal activity of sika deer increased with decreasing distance to settlement. A similar, but weak response was also observed for wild boar. This study suggests that sika deer and wild boar avoid humans and human-dominated areas by being nocturnal. The recent introduction of night hunting might help to control wildlife populations, but monitoring will be necessary to confirm this expectation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the “Development of wildlife management system with DPSIR scheme” project, from special budgets for research and education in fiscal year 2010–2011 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. We thank to the prefectural office of Tochigi and the city offices of Sano and Ashikaga for facilitating our survey. We also thank the local residents in Sano and Ashikaga for allowing us to establish camera trap stations around the settlements. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology supported N. van Doormaal as an academic intern. Thanks to Ludek Bartoš and an anonymous referee for commenting on the submitted manuscript.

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  1. Haruka Ohashi

    Present address: National Institute for Environmental Study, Japan, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Nick van Doormaal

  2. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Haruka Ohashi

  3. Institute of Agriculture, Graduate School of Tokyo, University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Shinsuke Koike & Koichi Kaji

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  1. Nick van Doormaal
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Correspondence to Koichi Kaji.

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Communicated by M. Scandura

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van Doormaal, N., Ohashi, H., Koike, S. et al. Influence of human activities on the activity patterns of Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Central Japan. Eur J Wildl Res 61, 517–527 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-015-0922-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-015-0922-8

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