Productive behaviour of red deer (cervus elaphus) relocated to the neotropical realm

Abstract

In 1994, a herd of red deer (Cervus elaphus) was introduced to Mexico from New Zealand; animals were distributed among 17 farms. Information was gathered from two farms situated in the Neotropical Realm, south of the Tropic of Cancer. Farm A is a research facility in the temperate highlands; Farm B is for extension purposes, in the dry tropics. Being at similar latitudes (20°47'N and 20°04'N, respectively), both have comparable pho-toperiods. Their main differences are their altitudes and climates (1990 versus 40 m above sea level; 17.4 versus 25.0°C average temperature; 460–630 versus 1000–1100 mm annual rainfall, respectively). On Farm A, animals were either confined (30 weeks) in earth-floor pens and fed on hay, or grazed (20 weeks) on a mixed irrigated pasture. Until 2000, they were neither vaccinated, nor drenched or supplemented. Breeding lasted 8–9 weeks in late autumn (single-sire mating; groups of 12–25 hinds). The herd's fertility rate was 92%. Most calves (80%) were born during June, weighing 9.4 kg. On Farm B, animals grazed year round on a mixture of tropical pastures, supplemented with assorted feeds. They were vaccinated against clostridial diseases, shipping fever, and paralytic rabies; drenched quarterly and dipped for tick prevention twice a month. They mated under uncontrolled breeding management for 2.5 months; 81% gave birth within May and June. Fertility was 79%; calves weighed 7.2 kg. In general, deer in Farm B seemed to be in a comparatively better body condition, however their productive performance appeared to indicate otherwise. On both farms, deer had kept their characteristic reproductive seasonal-ity, although the calving season tended to last longer than in their place of origin. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.