Home Ranges of Feral Goats in a Pastoral Area in Western Australia.

Abstract

Home ranges of feral goats studied by radio-telemetry in a pastoral area in Western Australia were much larger than those found in most other studies. Home ranges of males were larger (ranging from 139.2 to 587.7km*2) than those of females, which ranged from 15.0 to 190.2km*2. Excursions outside the normal (90 percentile) home ranges were common. The home ranges of females were smaller during summer than during winter. Male home ranges were of similar size in both seasons. Group structure and composition was highly variable. Implications of goat movements on management and control programmes are discussed.