MOUSE DEER
Mouse deer, or chevrotain, are about the size of a large rabbit. Found in India. Sri Lanka, China and Southeast Asia, they live in tropical rain forests, dense bush, grasslands, and on hills and mountains, subsisting on nuts, leaves, buds, seeds, fungi, fruit shoots, flowers, and vegetation of various kinds that have fallen from above or are found on the forest floor. Mouse deer are about 42 to 48 centimeters (16.5 to 19 inches) long, with a 5-to-7-centimeter (2-to-2.7-inch) -long tail. They about 30 centimeters (one foot) at the shoulder and weighs 1.2 to 2 kilograms (2.6 to 4.4 pounds). [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net]
David Attenborough wrote: There are two species, one smaller than the other in the Southeast Asian forests. There is a third, the water chevrotain in West Africa, and a fourth in India. Such a wide distribution is a strong indication of the chevrotains' antiquity, suggesting that they appeared at a time when tropical forests were more continuous than they are today. Chevrotains stand about a foot high and have pencil-thin legs, large lustrous eyes and small ears. Like the forest rhino and tapirs, they are largely solitary creatures though the males when they encounter one another may fight. Although they are sometimes called mouse-deer, they do not have antlers. Their only offensive weapons are two teeth, one on either side of the upper jaw, that are enlarged into short tusks. Being so small, and feebly armed, they are an easy meal for leopards or pythons, so unlike tapirs and the rhinos, they do not amble nonchalantly through the forest browsing in an unhurried confident way. [Source: “Life of Mammals” by David Attenborough]
“In contrast the chevrotain feed quickly, collecting fallen fruit and leaves from low bushes and digest them immediately. They then retire to a secluded hiding place and then use a technique that, it seems, they were the first to pioneer. They ruminate. Clumps of their hastily gathered meals are retrieved from a front compartment in their stomach where they had been stored and brought back up the throat to be given a second more intensive chewing with the back teeth. With that done, the chevrotain swallows the lump again. This time it continues through the first chamber of the stomach and into a second where it is fermented into a broth. It is a technique that today is used by many species of grazing mammals.”
The single African species is consistently known as "chevrotain". The names "chevrotain" and "mouse-deer" have been used interchangeably among the Asian species, though recent authorities typically have preferred chevrotain for the species in the genus Moschiola and mouse-deer for the species in the genus Tragulus. Thus, all species with pale-spotted or -striped upper parts are known as "chevrotain" and without are known as "mouse-deer". They are known as "living fossils" because they have changed little in 30 million years. [Source: Wikipedia]
Mouse deer are threatened by hunting and habitat destruction. They are hunted for their skins and meat. The fur of mouse deer is smooth and the skin has traditionally been used to make handbags and coats . Mouse deer have been hunted in Malaysia's rain forests as a delicacy. The animals are now being raised in captivity in a program aimed at making rain forests economically sustainable. Captive breeding is also done in zoos. Mouse deer size are preyed upon by various carnivores such as large snakes, birds, reptiles, and cats. Their small size and poor defenses has made them an easy mark for leopards and pythons. [National Geographic Earth Almanac, July 1990].
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Tragulidae (Chevrotains and Mouse Deer)
Mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) are said to be the smallest deer in the world but they are not a true deer. They are Tragulidae — relatives of pigs and have characteristics normally associated with other animals. Like pigs they have four toes on each foot. Like musk deer they have tusks instead of antlers. Like camels they have a three stomach compartments instead of the usual four found in most deer. Their “tusks” are two enlarged teeth, one on either side of the upper jaw.
Tragulidae (chevrotains and mouse deer) is small family of artiodactyls (3 genera and 10 species). Phil Myers, Animal Diversity Web Usually solitary and nocturnal, tragulids live in dense vegetation on the forest floor. They are primarily herbivorous, feeding on grasses, leaves, and some fruit, but they also eat invertebrates, small mammals, and even sometimes feed on carrion. The fossil record of tragulids extends to the Early Miocene (23 million to 16 million years ago). [Source:Phil Myers, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Mouse deer earn their common name because they are small; the largest individuals weigh around 4.5 kilograms. Their coats are some shade of brown above and white below. White spots and stripes can be seen on the body. Their muzzles are hairless. Their bodies appear short and compact, while the legs seem thin (relatively sturdier in the African species). They lack the facial and foot glands common to many members of their order. The stomach of mouse deer is three chambered (lacking a well-developed omasum), and these animals are ruminants.
Tragulids have a curious combination of primitive and derived traits. Their limbs, for example, are long and slender and end in hoofs. The carpals are cuboidal and highly specialized. Yet the lateral digits are present in tragulids (although not strongly developed), and tragulids are sometimes digitigrade. Even stranger, while the hindfeet have a cannon bone, the third and fourth metacarpals of the forefeet are either unfused (African species) or only partially fused (Asian species). Tragulids also have a unique ossified plate to which the sacral vertebrae attach. /=\
Tragulids have neither antlers nor horns. A postorbital bar is present. There is no sagittal crest, and the mandibular condyle is long. Like bovids and cervids, they have a full set of lower incisors, but the uppers are replaced by a horny pad. Canines are present. These are sexually dimorphic: large and curved in males, smaller in females. The canines of males actually extend below the lower lips. The cheek teeth are selenodont, and the dental formula is 0/3, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3 = 34. /=\
Mouse Deer Characteristics
Chevrotains are the smallest hoofed mammals in the world. The Asian species weigh between 1–4 kilograms (2–9 pounds), while the African chevrotain is considerably larger, at 7–16 kilograms (15–35 pounds). With an average length of 45 cm (18 in) and an average height of 30 cm (12 in), the Java mouse-deer is the smallest surviving ungulate (hoofed) mammal, as well as the smallest artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate).
Mouse deer, first described by F. Cuvier in 1822, have small, triangular heads with a small pointed black nose and large eyes and very long and thin legs and a rounded body. Their fur color is orange-brown with white under the stomach, chest and chin. When standing,their hind end is higher than their front quarter. These ungulates do not have any horns or antlers although the males have small tusks (elongated canines) in their upper jaw. [Source: Heather Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Mouse deer have large, luminescent eyes, small ears and thin, fragile-looking legs and sharp hooves that give the animal a tippee toe gait. They have four-chambered stomachs to ferment tough plant foods, but the third chamber is poorly developed. Unlike other artiodactyls, they lack an carotid rete, and so cannot heat exchange cool blood entering their brains, a thermoregulatory innovation that allows other artiodactyls to exploit hot arid habitats. Like other ruminants, they lack upper incisors. [Source: Wikipedia]
Mouse Deer Behavior
Mouse deer are largely solitary Mouse deer but sometimes live in loose groupings or pairs. They are very shy and nervous, freezing when they are alarmed and escaping by running in a zigzag pattern. They signal each other with tiny, impatient stamps. Although they lack the types of scent glands found in most other ruminants, they do possess a chin gland for marking each other as mates or antagonists, and, in the case of the water chevrotain, anal and preputial glands for marking territory.
Mouse deer are mostly nocturnal animals and they usually are solitary. They like dense bushes to conceal themselves and are quiet, stealthy and skillful and are good at sheltering themselves. Their territories are relatively small, on the order of 13–24 hectares (32–59 acres), but neighbors generally ignore each other, rather than compete aggressively.
Mouse deer feed almost exclusively on plant material.Some species are fond of water, often remaining submerged for prolonged periods to evade predators or other unwelcome intrusions. This has lent support to the idea that whales evolved from water-loving creatures that looked like small deer. Mouse deer temporarily lose their capacity to run after wading in water; thus people have traditionally caught them then.
Mouse Deer Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Female mouse deer spend most of their adult life pregnant. Mouse deer breed year-round with a gestation period of around four and half months. Females can breed again within a couple of hours after birth. Only one offspring is usually born at a time. Young reach sexual maturity between 5 and 10 months, depending on species. Parental care is relatively limited.
The offspring are well-developed when born and are able to stand and be fully active 30 minutes after birth. They nurse while standing on three legs and are weaned at two to three months of age. Mouse deer are shy and their fawns tend to be "hiders". [Source: Heather Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
During the pre-birth stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. Pre-weaning provisioning is provided by females. Female lesser mouse deer have the potential to be pregnant throughout their adult life and are able to conceive only 85-155 minutes after giving birth. Males and females are sexually mature at four and a half months and have lived up to sixteen years in captivity. [Source: Nicole Strawder, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Mouse Deer Species
There are 10 extant species of mouse deer, placed in three genera. This does not include several species known only from fossils. All but one of the extant species are found in forests in South and Southeast Asia. A single species, the water chevrotain, is found in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. Their wide distribution suggests they are an ancient species that back to a time when tropical forest blanketed much of Asia and Africa. In November 2019, scientists announced that they had photographed silver-backed chevrotains (Tragulus versicolor) in a Vietnamese forest for the first time since the last confirmed sightings in 1990.
Traditionally, only four extant species were recognized in the family Tragulidae. In 2004, T. nigricans and T. versicolor were split from T. napu, and T. kanchil and T. williamsoni were split from T. javanicus. In 2005, M. indica and M. kathygre were split from M. meminna.[2] With these changes, the 10 extant species in the Family Tragulidae are:
Genus Hyemoschus
1) Water chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus)
Mouse deer species: 1) White-spotted Chevrotain (Moschiola meminna), 2) Yellow-striped Chevrotain (Moschiola kathygre), 3) Indian Chevrotain (Moschiola indica), 4) Silver-backed Chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), 5) Lesser Indo-Malayan Chevrotain (Tragulus kanchil), 6) Northern Chevrotain (Tragulus williamsoni), 7) Javan Chevrotain (Tragulus javanicus), 8) Greater Indo-Malayan Chevrotain (Tragulus napu), 9) Balabac Chevrotain (Tragulus nigricans), 10) Water Chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus)
Genus Moschiola
1) Indian spotted chevrotain (Moschiola indica)
2) Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (Moschiola meminna)
3) Yellow-striped chevrotain (Moschiola kathygre)
Genus Tragulus
1) Java mouse-deer (Tragulus javanicus)
2) Lesser mouse-deer or kanchil (Tragulus kanchil)
3) Greater mouse-deer (Tragulus napu)
4) Philippine mouse-deer (Tragulus nigricans)
5) Vietnam mouse-deer (Tragulus versicolor)
6) Williamson's mouse-deer (Tragulus williamsoni)
The Indian spotted chevrotain is 50 to 58 centimeters long, not including its three centimeter tail, and weighs around three kilograms. Native to India and some other areas of South Asia, it is a small, shy creature that likes to hide in rocky perches in the tropical rain forest. Mostly solitary and nocturnal, it has a spotted back and striped flanks and throat. Males sometimes fight using their tusk-like teeth. Females usually give birth to a single young after a five month gestation period.
Greater Mouse Deer
Greater mouse deer (Tragulus napu) range in weight from five to eight kilograms (11 to 17.6 pounds). Their head and body length is 70-75 centimeters (27.5-29.5 inches). The stand 30-35 centimeters (11-14 inches) at the shoulder and their tail is 8-10 centimeters (4-5 inches) long. [Source: Heather Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Greater mouse deer live in Thailand, Indochina, Sri Lanka, the Malayan Penninsula, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. They always live close to water and prefer to be in the undergrowth of dense forests in tropical areas in forests and rainforests. They deer eat fallen fruit and berries, aquatic plants, leaves, buds, shrubs and grasses. Greater mouse deer are often used as a source of food for native people. They also make good pets, for they are easily tamed. /=\
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies greater mouse deer as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. The subspecies Tragulus napu nigricans is listed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered. This subspecies is found on Balabac Island southwest of the Philippines. Otherwise, these animals are threatened because of over-hunting and habitat loss through deforestation. /=\
Greater Mouse Deer Behavior
Greater mouse deer are cursorial (with limbs adapted to running), terricolous (live on the ground), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), solitary, territorial (defend an area within the home range). They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. [Source:Heather Lutz, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Heather Lutz wrote in Animal Diversity Web: “The Greater mouse deer is a very solitary creature except during the breeding season. They are nocturnal, animals who have very distinct patterns of activity and resting. They create small trails while they travel through the thick brush of the forest. Due to the solitary nature of this species, they have no strict hierarchical structure and fights between males are short bouts of biting with their sharp canines. The males have a large gland on their lower jaw that they rub against females to see if they are ready to mate. When the females are not ready, they simply walk away.
Very territorial, the males mark their small and permanent territories with their feces, urine and the secretions from the gland under their jaw. The male of this Mouse Deer beats the ground with his hooves at a rate of four beats per second when agitated or angry. At times the males have been video taped to be standing on one foot only, for no known reason. The females tend to stay in their home territory while the males move around and usually do not spend more than a year in the same place. /=\
Lesser Mouse Deer
Lesser mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) live in tropical forest region in Southeast Asia. Also known as lesser Malay mouse deer, they are found in overgrown primary and secondary forests and often reside around rocks, hollow trees, and dense vegetation near water. They live in tropical areas in rainforests. Their average lifespan in captivity is 14.0 years. [Source: Nicole Strawder, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Lesser mouse deer are the smallest artiodactyls. They range in weight from one to two kilograms (2.2 to 4.4 pounds) and are 45 to 56 centimeters (18-22 inches) long with a tail length of fiver centimeters (two inches). Their average basal metabolic rate is 4.883 watts. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. /=\
Mouse deer have no upper incisors. Lesser mouse deer have a series of white vertical markings on their neck. They have a triangular head and a round body with elevated rear quarters. Their thin legs are about the diameter of a pen. Young look like miniature adults when born; however, the tusk-like incisors in the infant males are not well developed. The cheekteeth of lesser mouse deer have a crescent pattern formed by the enamel ridges.
Lesser mouse deer are ruminants with a three-chambered stomach, using microorganisms that produce enzymes within the stomach to digest their food. In the wild, lesser mouse deer are commonly herbivores and are also classified as folivores, eating leaves, buds, shrubs, and fruits that have fallen from trees. In zoos, mouse deer tend to eat insects as well as leaves and fruits . /=\
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies lesser mouse deer as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status.
Lesser Mouse Deer Behavior
Nicole Strawder wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Lesser Malay mouse deer tend to form monogamous family groups. Some are solitary. Mouse deer are very shy and try to remain unseen. They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. They are usually silent; the only noise mouse deer make is a shrill cry when frightened. Lesser mouse deer are most active during the night.
Lesser mouse deer travel through tunnel-like trails of thick bursh to reach their feeding and resting sites, which are often in the cracks of rocks, hollow trees, and dense vegetation . The male mouse deer are territorial (defend an area within the home range). Mouse deer regularly mark their territories, and their mates, using secretions from an intermandibular gland under the chin, an action that is usually accompanied by urinating or defecating.
Male mouse deer protect themselves, and their mates, against rivals by chasing or slashing them with their sharp canines. When threatened, lesser mouse deer rapidly beat their hooves on the ground at speeds of up to seven times per second, creating a 'drum roll' . Predators of the mouse deer include large birds and large, reptiles.
Javan Mouse Deer — the Smallest Mouse Deer
Javan mouse deer are among the smallest mouse deer. Their average length is about 46 centimeters (18) inches and their average height is 30 centimeters (1 foot). They weigh between one and two kilograms (2.2 and 4.4 pounds). They begins life about the size of a hamster, weighing about 100 grams. When full grown, the tiny-hoofed animals is about the size of a rabbit or Chihuahua, with legs almost as skinny as pencils, and often weighing less than a kilogram. [Source: Reekoscience, May 6, 2014]
The tiny Java mouse-deer has been described as shy and intelligent. It doesn’t have antlers or horns but it does have little tusks sticking out from its upper jaw. They live in tropical rainforests and sometimes gather in herds and make tunnels through dense brush, to make it easier to get around and forage for food — mainly insects and small plants. When threatened, they frantically beat their little hooves against the ground at a rate of about seven strikes per second creating a “drum roll” like sound.
Java mouse deer reside on the island of Java and are threatned by deforestation, habitat decruction and fragmentation and hunting. They are considered a delicacy in som parts of Asia. People trap them and keep them as pets. In Indonesia they call mouse deer l 'kancil' and it's a main character in many stories and fables. Kancil is a quick-witted and naughty, and many stories the animal being a pest and stealing farmer's crops or outwitting stronger, bigger but less clever animals. [Source: AFP, 26 April 2014]
Mouse Deer and Tiger — an Indonesian Folk Story
A well-known Indonesia folk story goes: One upon a time, there was a mouse deer living in a forest. Although he was small, he wasn’t afraid of the other bigger animals who wanted to eat him. He was so smart; he always managed to ditch them. One day, a tiger was wandering around for food. He hadn’t been eating for days. [Source: aditya indonesianfolktale.blogspot, April 21, 2010 ^]
He was really hungry. While he was walking in the forest, he saw Mouse Deer. The tiger wanted to eat him. Tiger slowly ducked, crawled, approaching Mouse Deer, then…”Gotcha!” said Tiger. He caught Mouse Deer. “Hello, Mouse Deer! I’m really hungry right now. You’ll be my lunch!” said Tiger.
Mouse Deer didn’t want to be his lunch. He tried to be calm. He looked around and saw some buffalo’s dung. He had an idea. “I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me to guard his cake,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His cake?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes, there it is. It’s very delicious.
The King doesn’t want anyone else to eat it, so he ordered me to guard it,” Mouse Deer pointed the buffalo’s dung. “Can I taste it?” Tiger asked. “Of course you can’t. The King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just one little bite, Mouse Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger. “Well, okay, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then took a big mouthful of the ‘cake’. “Phoooey!” He spit it out. “Yuck, that’s not cake. That’s buffalo’s dung.” ^
Tiger ran through the forest. He caught up with Mouse Deer.“Mouse Deer, you tricked me. But now you will be my lunch.” Mouse Deer looked around and saw a wasp nest in a tree.“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me to guard his drum,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His drum?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes, there it is. It has the best sound in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to hit it,” Mouse Deer pointed the wasp nest. “Can I hit the King’s drum?” Tiger asked.
“Of course you can’t. The King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just one little hit, Mouse Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger. ”Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then reached up and hit the wasp nest. Bzzzzzzz…! “Ouch…ouch! That’s not a drum. That a wasp nests!” Tiger ran away. But the wasps keep following him. He came to the river. He jumped in and stayed underwater as long as he could. At last the wasps went away. Then he jumped out. ^
He ran through the forest till he found Mouse Deer.“Mouse Deer, you tricked me again. But now you will be my lunch.” Mouse Deer looked around and saw a cobra. The snake was coiled asleep on the ground.“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch now. The King has ordered me to guard his belt,” said Mouse Deer calmly. “His belt?” said Tiger curiously. “Yes. There it is. It’s the best belt in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to wear it,” Mouse Deer pointed the cobra. “Can I wear it?” Tiger asked.
“Of course you can’t. The King would be very angry,” said Mouse Deer refused. “Just for one moment, Mouse Deer! The King will never know,” said Tiger. ”Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so the King won’t blame me,” said Mouse Deer. “All right, Mouse Deer. You can go now.” Mouse Deer ran quickly out of sight. Tiger then took the snake and started to warp it around himself. The cobra woke up. It squeezed Tiger and bit him. SSssssstt!“Oouch! Ow! Ooow! That’s not a belt! That’s a cobra! Help! Mouse Deer! Help!” But Mouse Deer was already far away. He laughed aloud. Mouse Deer was safe from Tiger now. ^
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated January 2025