The effects of hand-rearing fallow deer in a captive environment
Abstract
The European fallow deer (Dama dama dama) is an exotic animal species that originated in Europe and Asia and was brought to Texas in 1930. The European fallow deer was initially introduced as a farmed animal to be used for meat production, although this species may be used for other purposes. At Texas A&M University's Wildlife and Exotic Animal Center, the herd of fallow deer is used for educational and research purpose. The purpose of my research was to develop a hand-rearing protocol specific for fallow deer fawns born at the Wildlife and Exotic Animal Center and to study the effects of hand-rearing fallow deer in a captive environment. This was accomplished by hand-rearing five female fallow fawns, observing their behavior, and keeping accurate and detailed records. To quantitatively assess the effects of hand-rearing, the heart rates, respiratory rates, temperatures, and weights of all fallow deer were measured. Comparisons were then made between the tame and non-tame fallow deer. Observations were also made regarding behavior. The hand-rearing protocol that was developed could be altered and used towards the hand-rearing of other animals, specifically hoofstock, in captive environments. Additionally, the effects of hand-rearing as addressed in this research could serve to better inform personnel at other captive animal facilities of the advantages and disadvantages associated with hand-rearing.
Description
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-47).
Citation
Healy, Allison Anne (1999). The effects of hand-rearing fallow deer in a captive environment. Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1999 -Fellows -Thesis -H42.