Taiwan had been considered a rabies-free area from 1961 to 2013. In July 2013, an outbreak of rabies occurred among Formosan ferret-badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) populations in Taiwan. By 21 April 2016, 530 ferret-badgers had been tested positive with rabies. Those rabies cases, however, were confined to certain areas in southern and eastern Taiwan, suggesting that large rivers act as barriers to prevent spread of rabies. In order to control the spread of rabies, there is an urgent need to understand the ecology of Formosan ferret-badger. The aim of this study was to investigate the home range, movement and activity of Formosan ferret-badgers. From June 2014 to April 2016, we established 3 2-km2study sites in rabies epidemic area and another 3 sites in rabies-free area along Daan River. In each site, we deployed 6 camera traps to investigate the activity of badgers. Additionally, home ranges and daily movements of badgers were studied by radio tracking.
Results/Conclusions
During the study period, a total of 15 ferret-badgers were tracked for 3 to 12 month each. The results showed that the home range (95% Fixed Kernel) of individual ferret-badger varied between 1.58 and 16.26 ha, with an average of 8.4±4.7 ha. No individuals were found to move across the Daan River during the study period. The average distance of movement per night was 343±217 m, with the longest of 977 m. In 3 pairs of adult female and adult male studied, their home ranges overlapped between 30.5% and 97.0%. A total of 1,011 photos of ferret-badgers taken by camera traps showed that Formosan ferret-badger is strictly nocturnal with two peaks of activity per night right after sunset and 3 hours before sunrise. Within a year, more activities were recorded from May to June and between October and December, suggesting periods of mating and juvenile dispersal, respectively. Based on our results, we suggest that in the future oral vaccination could be applied in the field twice a year in March that before mating season and in September that before juvenile despersal. Our results of home ranges and movements of badgers could also be used to develop strategy for rabies control in Taiwan.