We analyzed 254 deaths caused by diseases in captive Alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) from 1998 to 2005 at the Xinglongshan Musk Deer Farm,Gansu.Among the eight categories of diseases,respiratory system diseases had the highest incidence rate of 26.8%, followed by motor system diseases (16.5%), digestive and nutritive diseases (14.6%), unidentified diseases (14.2%),cardiovascular system diseases (13%),urinary system diseases (9.8%),nervous system diseases (3.5%), and reproductive system diseases (1.6%).The percentages of dead males were higher than those of the females for deaths caused by digestive system and nutritive diseases(♂62.2%),cardiovascular system diseases (60.6%), nervous system diseases (66.7%), unidentified diseases (61.1%), and particularly the urinary system diseases (up to 84%), and the male to female ratio of deaths caused by all the diseases was (♂∶♀) 1∶0.76, showing a male-skewed mortality. The mortality of newborn and fawns was relatively high, and the percentage of deaths in one-and two-year-old deer was 51.6% of the total, but those decreased with deer age. The relationship between the economic benefit in the farming of musk deer and the prevention of diseases were discussed. Finally, we offered a strategy to control the incidence of diseases by regarding the musk deer as a solitary species.
The annual musk production of captive alpine musk deer(Moschus chrysogaster)in Xinglongshan Musk Deer Farm(E103°50′-104°10′,N35°38′-58′), Gansu, from 1996 to 2007, were analyzed in this paper. The results showed that: (1) The average musk production from 507 individuals was 8.8 g, with the highest 22.6 g and lowest 1.0 g; (2) The musk production of 76.9% individuals was within the range of 5-15 g;(3)The average musk production from 1.5 year group was the highest 10.3 g among all age groups, which might have resulted from the well-breeding to the young;(4) The distribution of the annual musk production since 1998 appeared to be a typical wave-shaped curve; (5)The average musk production (8.8 g) was lower than those reported by the other farms, and the main cause was probably the unbalanced rations,and (6) The annual average musk production (above 12 g) and harvest times (above 7 times) of a few individuals were relatively high, and it was suggested that the breeding program of musk deer should be emphasized in the future.
