Long-term survey on private property near Buchan, East Gippsland, Victoria, sheds light on Sambar Deer Cervus (Rusa) unicolor behaviour.

Although presenting a small and largely opportunistic study on a private property near Buchan, East Gippsland, Victoria, this paper presents a number of insights on Sambar Deer Cervus (Rusa) unicolor behaviour. Results reflect patterns occurring elsewhere in the state, such as the annual increase in Sambar up to 2019 and their migration back and forth from higher elevations to lower elevations in response to snow cover. Sambar were more tolerant of the surveyor on a quad-bike than when on foot, and identification of distinctive individuals indicated habituation with subsequent surveys. A large decrease in Sambar occurred in 2021 and is attributed to the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020 and subsequent culling of Sambar but the extent of the contributions of each remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]