Dairy cattle husbandry and red deer utilization of a summer range in the Central Italian Alps

In the Italian Alps dairy cattle are taken to mountain ranges during the summer, which can lead to overlap of areas used by cattle with areas traditionally used by wild ungulates. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of dairy cattle husbandry on the utilization by red deer (Cervus elaphus) of a summer range at an altitude of 1500-1700 m in the Central Italian Alps. Spatial overlap between the 2 species occurred, suggesting that the presence of cattle themselves has a limited impact on red deer. The area where milking took place was among the areas most preferred by deer, probably because of the remains of supplementary feed delivered to cattle during milking operations as well as the presence of high concentrations of cattle urine (salt concentration). Milking operations in the field had the highest impact on red deer in our study, as shown by the dramatic reduction of deer in the area (index of presence: IP = 0.03 ± 0.02 during milking versus 0.35 ± 0.07 without milking; P < 0.001) and by the complete absence of spatial overlap during milking. This indicates that human activities related to dairy cattle husbandry had a higher impact on red deer than did the presence of cattle themselves. Deer seemed to adapt to the rhythm of milking operations, which were carried out routinely every day at fixed times, thus representing a predictable disturbance.