The progress in nutrition research of musk deer: Implication for conservation

Musk deer (Moschus spp.) are small forest ungulates that are unique to Asia and are mainly distributed in China. In the last 30 years, because of indiscriminate trapping, hunting, and killing of the musk deer for musk and the loss of suitable habitat due to deforestation, the distribution and population of wild musk deer have declined. The Chinese government has proposed a protection plan for musk deer, and promoted the musk deer's reintroduction as an important population restoration measure. However, a limited amount of research is available regarding the behavior of artificial populations and disease control and prevention, and very few studies have been undertaken to determine the role of nutrition in the successful reintroduction of musk deer. Therefore, we reviewed the related studies on nutrition of musk deer, considered the habitats, artificial breeding, and disease prevention, and assessed potential problems in population recovery of the musk deer.