RESUMO
The time and period of the day dedicated by several ruminant species to different activities (time budget) varies along the year. Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Linnaeus, 1758) is an endangered species that lives in the southern cone of South America. Our aim was to describe seasonal variations of pampas deer female time budget under semi-captivity conditions. The study was performed at the Estación de Cría de Fauna Autóctona Cerro Pan de Azúcar (Uruguay), with 31 female' pampas deer housed in 6 breeding groups composed by 1 stag, 3-6 hinds and fawns. The behavior of each deer was recorded using instantaneous scan sampling every 15 m for approximately 8 h per day. On summer they spent more time lying and less time grazing (P < 0.0001); on winter, more time standing and eating ration (P < 0.0001), and on spring the time that they spent ruminating was maximum (P < 0.0001). At least in the conditions of this study, pampas deer females' time budget was strongly influenced by season.