DEER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

DEER FAMILY (CERVIDS)


Eld's deer

The deer family includes deer, reindeer and elk. The largest deer are moose, which can weigh nearly a ton, and the smallest is the Chilean pudu, which is not much larger than a rabbit. Deer belong to the family “Cervidae”, which is part of the order “Artiodactyla” (even-toed hoofed mammals). “Cervidae” are similar to “Bovidae” (cattle, antelopes, sheep and goat) in that they chew the cud but differ in that have solid horns that are shed periodically (“Bovidae” have hollow ones).

A male deer is called a buck or stag. A female is called a doe. Young are called fawns. A group is called a herd. Deer don't hibernate and sometimes group together to stay warm. Particularly cold winters sometimes kill deer outright, mainly by robbing them of food, especially when a hard layer of ice and snow keeps them from getting at food.

The family Cervidae, commonly referred to as "the deer family", consists of 23 genera containing 47 species, and includes three subfamilies: Capriolinae (brocket deer, caribou, deer, moose, and relatives), Cervinae (elk, muntjacs, and tufted deer), and Hydropotinae, which contains only one extant species (Chinese water deer). According to Animal Diversity Web: However, classification of cervids has been controversial and a single well-supported phylogenetic and taxonomic history has yet to be established. Cervids range in mass from nine to 816 kilograms (20 to 1800 pounds), and all but one species, Chinese water deer, have antlers. With the exception of caribou, only males have antlers and some species with smaller antlers have enlarged upper canines. In addition to sexually dimorphic ornamentation, most deer species are size-dimorphic as well with males commonly being 25 percent larger than their female counterparts. [Source: Katie Holmes; Jessica Jenkins; Prashanth Mahalin; John Berini, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Cervids have a large number of morphological Synapomorphies (characteristics that are shared within a taxonomic group), and range in color from dark to very light brown; however, young are commonly born with cryptic coloration, such as white spots, that helps camouflage them from potential predators. Although most cervids live in herds, some species, such as South American marsh deer, are solitary. The majority of species have social hierarchies that have a positive correlation with body size (e.g., large males are dominant to small males). /=\

Websites and Resources on Animals: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; BBC Earth bbcearth.com; A-Z-Animals.com a-z-animals.com; Live Science Animals livescience.com; Animal Info animalinfo.org ; World Wildlife Fund (WWF) worldwildlife.org the world’s largest independent conservation body; National Geographic National Geographic ; Endangered Animals (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) iucnredlist.org

Barking Deer (Muntjac)

Barking deer, or “muntjac”, are not much larger than small dogs. They are reddish brown in color and use their small size to stay concealed in the grass. They stand about 30 inches at the shoulder, have two-tined antlers that are only about four inches long, and make a barking noise like a dog when they get exited. There are nine species of muntjac, all native to Asia.


muntjac

Indian Muntjac (Barking Deer, Muntiacus muntjak) have a body length of one meter and a tail length of 17-21 centimeters and weigh 25-30 kilograms. Their preferred habitats are forests and bushes in low altitude mountains and hills. They eat branches, leaves, flowers, fruit, various kinds of f vegetation and crops. Their skin has traditionally been a source of leather in China. For this reason they were widely hunted in South China. In China they can be found in Southeast, South and Southwest China and are not considered threatened or endangered. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net.cn]

Barking deer are usually solitary. They are cautious and sensitive. They often comes out in the night, in early morning, or at dusk. During the daytime, they usually hides in bushes to take rests and bark when they are frightened. Their bark is quite similar to that of dogs, hence their name. Barking deer have fixed range. No matter how far away they are chased from a place, they always return to their original territory. Barking deer reproduce easily and can mate all the year round. Their gestation period is about 210 days and give birth to one young at a time. Barking deer reach sexual maturity at the age of one year.

The Reeves muntjac is 75 to 95 centimeters long, not including its 17 centimeter tail, and weighs 10 to 18 kilograms. Native to eastern Asia, it has small 10-centimeter-long antlers and feeds on a wide variety of vegetation ranging from shoots, herbs and blossoms to tough grass and nuts. Males are capable of breeding year round. In fights they try to push their rivals off balance, sometimes inflicting nasty wounds with their antlers. Some Reeves muntjac have been introduced to the Netherlands and England.

Sambar Deer

The sambar deer is a large deer found in India and Southeast Asia. Resembling large deer found in North America and Europe, it is two to 2.5 meters long, not including its 15 to 20 centimeter tail, and weighs 230 10 to 350 kilograms. Native to southern and eastern Asia, it is dark brown with rusty hues on its inner legs, chin and tail underside. The male has three-point antlers than can reach 1.2 meters in length. Both sex have a neck mane that is thicker on males. Solitary except for males with young, they eat wide variety of vegetation — mostly grasses, leaves and fruit — and are mostly nocturnal.

The sambar deer coat is hispid and long. Males keep their large antlers for a few years between shedding them. Sambar deer are shy, skittish creatures that flee into the depths of the forest at the slightest sound. During the mating season stags acquire harems which they defend vigorously. In central and southern India females give birth in May or early June bit in other parts of Asia the reproductive cycle may be different. After a six-month gestation period one, sometimes two, fawns are born and they are weaned when they are a few months old.


There are six distinct subspecies, which vary in size and coloring. They live in tropical and subtropical forests and are found up to elevations of about 3,000 meters. The largest sambars live in the hills of northern India. They can weigh to 350 kilograms pounds. Smaller ones live on the plains to the east and on coastal islands. The most southern subspecies lives in Indonesia. In China, sambar (Cervus nuicolor) have a body length of 1.8- two meters and a tail length of 24 centimeters. Females weigh about 120 kilograms, males about 180 kilograms. They can be found in broad-leaved forests, coniferous woods, bush lands, grass slopes and forests of low and middle-height mountains. They eat tree leaves, grass, flowers, fruit and other kinds of vegetation. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net]

Sambar often live together in pairs or in groups with 3-5 deer. During the daytime, they relax in grasslands or in forests and tend to browse and move around during the night. They often make calls when they go out during the night and they are most active during the rainy season. Samar are born vigilant and are good at running and jumping and like to play in water and bathe in mud. They spends more time in water during summer and can swim several kilometers. They have the habit of sucking salty soil.

Hog Deer

Hog deer (Axis porcinu) are native to India, the Himalayan foothills and Southeast Asia, including Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. They prefer dense forests but are often observed in clearings, grasslands and occasionally wet grasslands, with the variation depending on the time of year and food distribution. The majority of hog deer inhabits the Indus River Forest Reserves of Sindh. They have been introduced to Sri Lanka, Australia (specifically the coastal regions of south and east Gippsland), and the United States, including Texas, Florida, and Hawaii. Hog deer live 10 to 20 years both in captivity and in the wild. [Source: Andrea Michelin, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Hog deer are primarily herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts) and are also classified as folivores (eat mainly leaves). Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, grasses, and occasionally fruit. They feed nocturnally and both graze and browse, but seem to prefer grazing. Foods commonly eaten include: Saccharum spontaneum (wild cane), Saccharum munja, Tamarix dioica, Populus euphratica and Zizyphus jujuba. /=\

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List hog deer are listed as Endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Although once plentiful throughout their native range, hog deer have seen their numbers sharply decline, especially in Pakistan and surrounding areas due to habitat loss and hunting pressure. As a result of human control over the Indus River flooding, a large part of the natural habitat of hog deer is drying out.

Recently, Hog deer has become a sought after source of venison particularly in the United States. The meat was judged best tasting wild game meat by the Exotic Wildlife Association and is considered virtually fat free (it contains less than one percent fat). Commercialized hunting of hog deer is practiced in both native and introduced ranges. In Hawaii, Hog deer populations have multiplied and spread and are blamed for ecological damage. No conservation effort are underway. /=\

Javan Rusa


Javan rusa

Javan rusa (Rusa timorensis) is a large deer species native to Indonesia and East Timor. The the largest Rusa species, they were previously known by the scientific name Cervus timorensis and the are also known by the common name Timor deers. Javan rusa are native to the islands of Java, Bali and Timor in Indonesia and have been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, elsewhere in Indonesia, Papua New Guniea and island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. . In the wild, they are mainly found in deciduous forests, scrub forests, plantations and grasslands. They prefer the edges of the forest. Their lifespan in the wild is 15 to 20 years. [Source: Eduardo Reyes, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Javan rusa are primarily herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts), and folivores (eat mainly leaves). Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, grass, wood, bark, or stems. They drink little water because they get their fluid from the grass and the leaves. /=\

Humans utilize Javan rusas for food and their body parts are source of valuable materials, namely medicine. They shed their antlers between the months of October and February and these are collected and used primarily in Asian medicine but are also made into jewelry. In Queensland, Australia, 50 percent of the deer farmed are Javan rusa. They are raised for meat, hides and traditional medicine. Rusa meat is considered lean and nutritious.

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Javan rusa are listed as Vulnerable. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Natural predators include crocodiles, pythons, and Komodo dragons.

Javan Rusa Characteristics, Behavior and Reproduction

Javan rusa range in weight from 74 to 160 kilograms (163 to 352.4 pounds) and range in length from 83 to 110 centimeters (32.7to 43.3 inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Ornamentation is different. Males usually weigh 152 kilograms, while females weigh about 74 kilograms. The males have a lyre-shaped, three-tined antlers, which weigh about 2.5 kilograms. Males and females have a rough grayish brown coat that is often coarse in appearance. Their ears are rounded and broad. The animals look short and stubby because they have relatively short legs.

Javan rusa are cursorial (with limbs adapted to running), terricolous (live on the ground), nocturnal (active at night), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), nomadic (move from place to place, generally within a well-defined range) and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups).
Javan rusa, like other deer species, use chemical and visual cues and sounds in communication around reproductive state. They sense and communicate with vision, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. Although Javan rusa sometimes graze during the day, they are mostly nocturnal perhaps to avoid diurnal predators.


Javan rusa range

During the mating season, males decorate their antlers with grass and twigs to attract the females and intimidate competitors. Males are extremely vocal and aggressive towards one another. Males and females live separately most of the year, except during the mating season. Young calves stay with their mothers until they reach sexual maturity. They are gregarious, normally associating in herds.

Like other deer species, Javan rusa are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time), with males competing for access to receptive females. They engage in seasonal breeding once a year. Breeding peaks from July to September. The number of offspring ranges from one to two, with the average number of offspring being one.

The average gestation period is eight months. The age in which they are weaned ranges from six to eight months. Females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 18 to 24 months. Young are precocial. This means they are relatively well-developed when born. Pre-birth and pre-weaning provisioning and protecting are done by females. Newly born calves stay with their mother. Weaning is from six to eight months.

Sika Deer

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) are a forest deer found in East Asia from Siberia south through China to Vietnam and Taiwan. These deer are divided into 14 regional subspecies, of which seven are found in Japan. The largest is the ezo-jika, which lives in Hokkaido. Honshu and Kyushu-Shikoku have their own subspecies.

Sika deer have been kept in parks and farmed for centuries and have been introduced to many regions. It is one meter to 1.5 meter (3.3 to five feet) long, not including its 12-to-20 centimeter (4.7-to-7.9-inch) tail, and weigh 4.5 to 80 kilograms (9.9 to 176.2 pounds). Their brownish coat has white spots in the summer and becomes almost black in the summer, with females sometimes having vague spotting. White hairs on the rumps can flare out like chrysanthemums when the animals are excited.

Sika deer are browsers that live primarily in forests — but are often seen roaming around farmland — and feed on tree leaves, fruits, bamboo, twigs, flowers, buds, acorns and nuts. They have large eyes and a strange haunting whistle. Adults can have large stately antlers.

Eld's Deer

Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii) are medium-sized deer with a regal and graceful physique. Their legs are thin and long with a long body, large head and thin neck. The rough and course coat turns from reddish brown in summer to dark brown in winter. They are also known as brow-antlered deer and thamin. They were previously considered a member of the genus Cervus as Cervus eldi or Cervus eldii. Their lifespan in captivity is as high as 19 years. /=\

Eld's deer are indigenous to Southeast Asia. There are three sub-species: 1) sangai (Rucervus eldii eldii), in India (discovered in the Manipur Valley of India in 1838 by Lieutenant Percy Eld); 2) Burmese brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii thamin), in Myanmar, westernmost Thailand; and 3) Siamese Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii siamensis), in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. Burmese brow-antlered deer is now restricted to Myanmar. Siamese Eld’s deer is found throughout Hainan island. Some individuals of Eld’s deer live as far north as 48°N.

The main habitat for Eld's deer is an indaing forest — usually dominated by Dipterocarpus tuberculatus trees. Indaing refers to sandy, flat terrain that floods seasonally. The range of Eld's deer also includes monsoonal forest, savannas, grasslands, chaparral and scrub forests Burmese brow-antlered deer is found in a variety of habitats, ranging from dry scrub and thorn forest to open deciduous forest. [Source: Emily Worrel, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]


Eld's deer range

Eld’s deer are primarily herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts), and are also classified as folivores (eat mainly leaves). Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, wood, bark, stems, seeds, grains, and nuts fruit. According to Animal Diversity Web: They are known to graze and browse opportunistically on wild fruits and cultivated crops from nearby fields. A few commonly eaten crops are rice, lentils, maize, peas and rape. Burmese brow-antlered deer tends to eat the fruits of various woody species such as Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula, and Diospyrous Myanmar (Burma)nica. They also eat forbs and grasses in these areas.

All cervids are foregut fermentators. This means that they have four-chambered stomachs, and are able to extract the majority of the nutrients offered by their poor quality food source. Eld’s deer is closely associated with areas that are seasonally burned. These deer eat the new grasses as they emerge after the burn. Feeding may vary seasonally, not just with food availability, but with reproductive considerations. During rut males, experience a decline in body weight. This is probably due to a decrease in their food intake. The ability of Eld's deer to obtain adequate amounts of nutrients to sustain both the bone growth and body mass of males, and the gestation and lactation needs of females, depends heavily on the types and abundances of food sources in the habitat. Eld’s deer exhibits seasonal movements that are slightly correlated with crop cycles. They tend to wander farther from crop land during the hot-dry season, mainly because they are moving closer to existing water holes. /=\

Eld's Deer Characteristics and Behavior

Eld's deer range in weight from 70 to 130 kilograms (154.19 to 286.34 pounds). They stand 1.1 meters (3.6 feet) at the shoulder and range in length from 1.5 to 1.8 meters (4.9 to 5.9 feet). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Ornamentation is different. Male antlers can reach one meters (39 inches) in length. [Source: Emily Worrel, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Eld's deer have selenodont teeth, a large body and foregut fermentation type of digestion. Like many other cervids (deer), they have a reddish brown to gray colored coat. According to Animal Diversity Web: They are similar in size to white-tailed deer, but differ somewhat in appearance. They have uniquely shaped antlers that are replaced every year. The antlers of Eld's deer are shaped in one continuous curve from the pedicle on the head to the very tip of the antler. There is a lesser branch of the antler that is positioned directly off the pedicel that grows in the direction of the front of the head.

Eld’s deer are terricolous (live on the ground), nocturnal (active at night), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), migratory (make seasonal movements between regions, such as between breeding and wintering grounds), solitary social and have dominance hierarchies (ranking systems or pecking orders among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates). The size of their range territory is 3.80 to 14.71 square kilometers.

Males tend to be loners throughout most of the year, except in the spring when mating begins. Females tend to remain in close association with their fawns and other female-fawn pairs. Large groups are often formed when males join these groups of females before the breeding season begins. Groups of one to 20 animals are common, and usually have a male to female ratio of 1:1.59, and a doe to fawn ration of 1:0.54. Group sizes peak in April and begin to slowly decrease through September.

Eld’s deer is reported to have both daily and seasonal migrations. These movements are largely influenced by breeding times and differences in availability of food and water in the various seasons. In captive populations, Eld's deer are known to be very excitable. They often become alarmed at the smallest disturbance and will run around frantically intheir enclosures, sometimes bumping into everything in their path.

Eld’s deer sense and communicate with vision, touch and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also leave scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. Most cervids have numerous glands on their feet, legs, and faces. These scent glands are used for intraspecific communication. Males often use chemosignaling through urine and feces to inform females that they are in reproductive condition. Not only do cervids utilize chemosignaling, they also use sight and touch. This is mostly commonly displayed before breeding when their antlers are at their largest. Eld’s deer does not use combat as its primary mode of hierarchy, but it is sometimes necessary to fend off a competing male. (Aung, et al., 2001; Hosack, et al., 1998) /=\

Eld's Deer Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Eld’s deer are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). They engage in seasonal breeding and tend to breed once per year. Breeding occurs from February to May. The number of offspring to two, with the average number of offspring being one. Emily Worrel wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Eld’s deer females can begin reproducing at two years of age and typically continue to reproduce until they are 10 years of age or older. They begin estrus in the late winter or early spring. They exhibit a long period of ovarian activity of 225 to 342 days, during which the females average 10 to 17 estrous cycles. Then after they have mated, females enter anestrus. This is just the opposite of estrus, and is a period when they are not sexually receptive. This cycle occurs in the autumn months. Some studies have shown that the presence of males triggers ovarian function in females. [Source: Emily Worrel, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]


Eld's deer range

Females of the subspecies Siamese Eld’s deer have been shown to give birth annually for up to six consecutive years. Females are fertile for a maximum of 12 to 14 years. Most births of this subspecies occur between October and November (75 percent of 171 reported births). Of all births, 94 percent occurred between October 1 and February 28. About 92 percent of births involve single young, while the remaining eight percent are twins. Most twins are apparently stillborn or die within a few days of birth. /=\

The average gestation for Eld’s deer is 7.93 months. The age in which they are weaned ranges from four to six months. The average weight of a newborn from the subspecies Burmese brow-antlered deer is between 4.7 and 4.8 kilograms. Newborns of Sangai are slightly larger, averaging between 4.7 and six kilograms. The young are weaned at about five months of age. /=\

Like most cervids, Eld’s deer mothers hide their young immediately after birth. Females typically give birth during the cool-dry season when the flood waters have receded and vegetation has begun to grow. This provides the young with shelter and helps to conceal them. By the end of time of weaning, the climate has changed to the hot-dry season, and the deer tend to migrate. The four to five month nursing period allows fawns to have sufficient time to increase their mobility, so they are able to travel with the herd.Fawns are primarily raised by their mothers. Males are around, usually watching over the herd, but they do not participate in most of the parental care.

Endangered Eld's Deer

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Eld’s deer are listed as Endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix I, which lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants.[Source: Emily Worrel, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The population of Eld’s deer declined by more than 50 percent over 15 year period in the 2000s and 2010s. Their current range is now limited to small localised areas within its former range. The Indian sub-species was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered in the 1950s and there are now concentrated efforts to protect the species. There were similar concerns about Siamese Eld’s deer, until it was caught on camera traps. Given the species' habit of inhabiting open grasslands, especially near water, Eld's deer have been an easy target for hunters. Eld's deer species was thought to be on the brink of extinction in Cambodia. However, recent camera traps set by Wildlife Conservation Society showed there are a few herds in Preah Vihear province. They have also been photographed in Stung Treng province in northern Cambodia.

Eld's deer have been hunted as game animals and as food sources and traditional medicine. They are prized as a game animal because of their antlers and hides. The sangai, has become so rare that survival will eventually rely on the practice of gene exchange of the wild and captive organisms by means of assisted reproduction. Poaching reduced the Siamese Eld’s deer population from a reported 500 individuals in 1964, to 26 in 1976. Hainan Datian Nature Reserve was established to help Siamese Eld’s deer recover, and the population increased to 151 individuals by 1986. Known natural predators include tigers, leopards, dholes, jackals and domestic dogs. Eld’s deer sometimes form large groups or herds to thwart predators even though they are usually solitary creatures.

Mouse Deer

The mouse deer, or chevrotain, is about the size of a large rabbit. Found in India. Sri Lanka, China and Southeast Asia, it lives in tropical rain forests, dense bush, grasslands, and on hills and mountains, subsisting of 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. The mouse deer is about 42-48 centimeters (a little more than a foot) long, with 5-7 centimeters0long tail. It stands about 30 centimeters at the shoulder and weighs 1.2-2 kilograms. . [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net]


mouse deer mating

Mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) are said to be the smallest deer in the world but they are not a true deer. They are 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.

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 are largely solitary but also 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. There are four species: two in Southeast Asia, one in India, and a forth, the water chevrotain in 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.

David Attenborough wrote: “Deer move through the forest browsing in an unhurried confident way. 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 hastly 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.”

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


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