Social and spatial interactions between red deer and cattle in the Italian Alps

In order to evaluate the level of disturbance produced by cattle on a red deer (Cervus elaphus) population, behavioural observations were carried out in a summer range located in an alpine valley in Northern Italy in presence or absence of cattle from June to September at dawn and at dusk (5 day/month, 8 hours/day). Spatial overlapping between red deer and cattle was observed, especially before and after milking operations. After cattle were introduced, a modification in the red deer's presence was noted in the experimental area (from 15.20 min/deer/h in June to 0.63 min/deer/h in September). This was also probably due to the decreased pasture biomass and to the migration to the breeding areas. During the whole observation period only 7 social interactions were recorded between cattle and deer. Three of them were aggressive and never showed a predominance by red deer. The presence of cattle significantly affected the deer's behaviour. When cattle were present, on average the deer spent less time feeding (151.00 ± 124.42 sec in presence of cattle and 307.70 ± 57.29 sec in absence of cattle; P<0.01) and more time standing (198.08 ± 132.58 sec in presence of cattle and 70.82 ± 79.76 sec in absence of cattle; P < 0.001), possibly due to the dominant role of cattle over deer.