Habitat and feeding ecology of alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand, India
Habitat and feeding ecology of alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand, India
The alpine musk deer, Moschus chrysogaster, a small member of family Moschidae, is a primitive deer threatened due to poaching and habitat loss, and therefore classified as Endangered by IUCN and also listed in Appendix I of CITES. Although the species is legally protected in India under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, conservation of the species requires better understanding of its distribution and resource-use pattern; therefore, a study on its feeding and habitat ecology was conducted from February 2011 to February 2014, at Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary.