Fecal cortisol changes of captive forest musk deer in nonpregnant period with reference to its indicative role.

This research was conducted in the musk deer farm in Fengxian County of Shaanxi Province northeastern China. The fresh feces of experimental animals were sampled in their nonpregnant period from April to September in 2010, and measured with enzymelinked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to figure out the dynamics of the fecal cortisol to detect the physiological stress of captive musk deer. The results indicated that the stress states of captive musk deer in the nonpregnant period can be divided into four stages (lactation when cubs lying in the nest, lactation when cubs activating out of the nest, cubs being fed alone, females being entering estrus). Females were in higher stress states during lactation (postpartum 2-4 weeks) when cubs lied in the nest, and in lower stress when cubs were fed alone (postpartum 13-15 weeks). In the same term, males kept apart from nursing cubs only showed slight increase of stress in May, which was possibly due to change of feeding materials from dry to fresh leaves at the time. Accordingly we conclude that the fecal cortisol levels of captive forest musk deer during nonpregnant are associated with some important factors resulting in the changes of physiological stress. Therefore, based on these results, we suggest females might be taken more carefully in the first stage of cubs nursing as they are in a sensitive period of breeding and management.