Activity and social behaviour of four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis de Blainville, 1816) in tropical deciduous forests of Aravalli mountain range, Western India

Abstract

Abstract. The four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) is a vulnerable, solitary endemic and smallest Asian herbivore bovid. Its activity and social behaviour were observed in the three wildlife sanctuaries of western India, by opportunistic focal animal sampling method from April 2014 to May 2016. The results show two peaks in animal activity; first in morning hours and second in evening hours mostly devoted to feeding (28.12 %) and walking (22.35 %). The species was observed to be mostly solitary (67.06 %) and the mean group size was 2.5 (± 1.29 SD). The mean flight initiation distance was 62.53 (± 23.47 SD) m, which was insignificantly related to freezing duration (r2 = 0.188, Y-intercept = 46.33 ± 8.49, P = 0.08). Localized defecation of T. quadricornis was found along with three mammals, while direct observations showed its association with six other mammals. The species also gleaned four plant parts of 13 tree species dropped by langurs.