台灣水鹿啃食樹皮行為影像紀錄與其含意

Bark-Stripping Behavior of Formosan Sambar (Rusa Unicolor Swinhoii) Caught on Camera and its Implications

2014年4月1日於玉山國家公園內的紅檜造林地首次以自動相機拍攝到兩隻雄性成體台灣水鹿啃食樹皮的行為。兩隻個體皆有嗅聞、舔食及啃食同一棵紅檜樹皮的行為。這些行為顯示1）樹皮的分泌物及其中的次級代謝物可能是吸引台灣水鹿啃食針葉樹樹皮的關鍵之一，2）啃食樹皮造成的損害速率可能以加速度方式提高。本研究建議以自動相機長期監測水鹿啃食樹皮的行為以檢驗上述的推論，並釐清水鹿啃食樹皮的原因。

Bark stripping behavior in two adult male Formosan sambar (Rusa unicolor swinhoii) was photographed in a Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis) plantation in Yushan National Park for the first time in Taiwan on April 1, 2014. Both males expressed behaviors of sniffing, licking and bark-stripping on the same Taiwan red cypress. These behaviors imply that 1) exudates and secondary metabolites of the bark probably are one of the key reasons that attract the Formosan sambar to debark coniferous trees and 2) damage from bark-stripping may increase at an accelerated rate. Long-term monitoring of bark-stripping behavior using camera is suggested to test the above interpretations and reveal why the Formosan sambar strips barks.