Animals, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 14(24), P. 3662 - 3662

Published: Dec. 18, 2024

Understanding the dietary composition of Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is critical for informing conservation efforts, particularly given species’ vulnerable status in Republic Korea and its limited ecological data. Previous studies have relied on conventional methods with limitations taxonomic precision, hindering comprehensive insights into their feeding ecology. To address this gap, we used Next-Generation Sequencing to analyze 16 fecal samples collected April from Gangwon Province, habitat M. moschiferus. Our results revealed 213 unique plant species, Morus, Quercus, Prunus accounting majority diet. Notably, nearly half identified genera, including Actinidia, Viscum, were reported first time as plants This study confirms that moschiferus a concentrate feeder primarily relies woody (98.8%) may exhibit tree-climbing behavior access parasitic shrubs like Viscum. These findings provide foundation future analysis research serve valuable baseline data long-term

Language: Английский