Population status of Spotted Deer in Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest, Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Abstract

The population status of spotted deer was studied in Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest (BBZCF) during different four seasons of 2012- 13. Population status was determined by direct count method at the time of its active movement in the morning and early evening. A total of 255 individuals of spotted deer were counted with a crude density of 118.6 deer/km². Male to female sex ratio varied seasonally (summer-1: 2.2, rainy- 1: 2.22, autumn- 1: 2.15 and in winter- 1: 2.50). The average sex ratio of males to females was computed as 44.47:100. The largest herd of 41 individuals was observed in summer. The average herd size was 13.49. We used Kruskal-Wallis Rank Sum test to find the significant difference in mean population distribution due to seasons and blocks. There was no significant difference in mean population distribution due to seasons (χ2=0.7624, df=3, P=0.8584) but significant differences was found in mean population distribution due to blocks (χ2=52.7534, df=13, P=0.000000997).