STUDY OF FEED PREFERENCE OF ENDANGERED HOG DEER UNDER CAPTIVE CONDITIONS IN PAKISTAN.

Hog deer (Axis porcinus) are an endangered species in Pakistan, and there is little information about their feed preference in captivity. Seven animals were offered weighed amount of feed in two seasonal binary combinations of fresh fodder and one combination of grains. The fresh seasonal fodder included Oat (Avena sativa), Lucerne (Medicago sativa), Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and Maize (Zea mays); whereas grains included Wheat (Triticum aestivum) whole-grains and Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds. Thirteen plant samples were collected from the wild habitat of Hog deer in Tunsa Barrage Wildlife Sanctuary. Plant samples from wild and captivity were analysed through proximate analysis for Crude protein, Fiber, Fat and Ash contents. The outcomes concluded that in combination C1, the hog deer preferred Oat over Lucerne (p < 0.05) with a mean percentage±standard error (Mean±SE) of 90.757±0.401 percent for Oat and 9.243±0.401 percent for Lucerne. The animals preferred Maize (p < 0.05) in combination C2 with mean percentage and standard error of 91.657±0.368 percent compared to Sorghum with mean percentage and standard error of 8.343±3.083 percent. Chickpea was the preferred feed item (p < 0.05) against Wheat from the C3 combination with mean percentages and standard error of 92.2±0.453 percent and 7.800±0.453 percent respectively. The results of the proximate analysis revealed that the percentage of Crude Protein was 15.69±4.8 percent and 12.63±1.4 percent for plants in Captivity and plants in the wild respectively. The percentages of Fat content in plants in captivity and the wild were 3.34±0.86 and 3.37±0.41 respectively. The results showed percentages of Ash content in plants both in captive and wild,10.9±5.9 and 32.83±0.98 respectively; whereas, the percentages of fibre contents in the plants in captivity and wild habitats were 21.00±3.9 and 27.01±2.6 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]