Relationship between some chemical components of herbage, dietary preference and fresh herbage intake rate by the Japanese serow

The serow is a native Japanese mammal and has been designated as a special natural treasure. However, it has been a pest of crops since the 1970s. Since the serow is an indigenous and protected species, it must be controlled without endangering the animal itself. To do this, it is necessary to determine if the serow selects particular crops to consume, and if so, what components of the crop plants influence this choice. In Experiment 1, we measured the preference of four serows for two crop plants and three wild plants, using the cafeteria method. The plants were offered to the animals from 09.00 to 15.30. The serows preferred crop plants to wild plants. The crude protein content of crop plants (28.0 and 32.7%) was higher than that of the other plants ( P