REEVES'S MUNTJACS
Reeves’s muntjacs(Muntiacus reevesi) are 75 to 95 centimeters (29.6 to 37.4 inches) long, not including their 17-centimeter (6.7-inch) tail, and weigh 10 to 18 kilograms (22 to 40 pounds) . Native to China and eastern Asia, they have small 10-centimeter (3.9-inch)-long antlers and feed 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. Their average lifespan in the wild is 10-12 years. Their lifespan in captivity is as high as 23.2 years. The common name comes from John Reeves, a naturalist employed by the British East India Company in the 19th century. He also has his name attached to a pheasant.
Reeves’s muntjacs are sometimes called Chinese muntjacs. They are native to the subtropical forests of southeastern China and Taiwan. They have become established in England after being introduced at Woburn, England (located in the middle of Bedfordshire county) around 1900. Feral populations may also exist in France, where introduced individuals escaped gardens and zoos.[Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Reeves’s muntjacs live in temperate and tropical areas in forests, rainforests and scrub forests as well as urban, suburban and agricultural areas. They create paths through the subtropical rainforests and are sometimes called bush huggers because of this. Muntjacs in general tend to prefer habitats near water, but evidence of this not forthcoming with Reeve’s muntjacs. Reeves’s muntjacs fight to defend a fairly specific territory, but males also tolerate the presence of a subordinate male in their territory so long as that male is not in rut. In England, Reeves’s muntjac have slightly different preferences for habitat than those in China. They appear to be equally content in habitats with and without cover. They have been found in deciduous and coniferous forests as well as agricultural land, and even suburban and urban areas.
See Separate Articles: MUNTJACS (BARKING DEER): CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR, SUBSPECIES factsanddetails.com ; MUNTJAC SPECIES factsanddetails.com ; MUNTJACS (BARKING DEER) IN CHINA factsanddetails.com
Reeves's Muntjac Characteristics
Reeves’s muntjacs range in weight from 11 to 28 kilograms (24.2 to 61.7 pounds), with their average weight being 18 kilograms (39.6 pounds). Their head and body length ranges from 70 to 113 centimeters (27.6 to 44.5 inches), with the average being 80 centimeters (31.50 inches). These muntjacs stand 43 to 45 centimeters (17 to 18 inches) at the shoulder. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Sexes are colored or patterned differently. Ornamentation is different. Males have short antlers (12.5 to 15 centimeters) and have long, tusk-like canines (2.5 to five centimeters long). The canines are not entirely fixed to the premaxilla (bone in the upper jaw that contains the incisor teeth) so they are less likely to be broken off during a fight. It is said the females tend to be slightly lighter in color than males, but these observations were mainly made on captive and feral Reeves’s muntjac in England and have not been observed in Reeves’s muntjacs in their native China. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Reeves’s muntjacs have a chestnut-colored coat and 10-centimeter (4-inch) tail that is black above and white below. Both the male and female Reeves’s muntjacs have bony ridges on their faces that are lined with black hair along the inside. These ridges extend into hair-covered pedicles from which antlers (male) or black tufts of hair (females) project. Both the male and female Reeves’s muntjacs also have preorbital glands that produce a creamy liquid used for chemical communication. /=\
As is the case with all muntjacs, Reeves’s muntjacs have only the upper parts of the 2nd and 5th digit metacarpals (”palm bones”) present. However, unlike other deer species that have two hooves of the same size and shape, Reeves’s muntjacs have one hoof that is smaller than the other. This hoof is lined with hairs which are visible in their footprints. /=\
Reeves's Muntjac Behavior
Reeves’s muntjacs are terricolous (live on the ground), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), solitary, territorial (defend an area within the home range). [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
The size of their range territory is 0.11 to 0.28 square kilometers. Male Reeves’s muntjac that were released in England had home ranges of approximately 20 hectares; the home range of females was approximately 12 hectares. Studies of feral populations in England found that range size and usage areas of the range did not differ seasonally or diurnally. These studies also noted that female territories tended to overlap. The range size for adult male Reeves’s muntjac ranged from about 20 to 28 hectares; for females the range was between 11 and 14 hectares. Data on range sizes for Reeves’s muntjac in their native China is not available. Gathering information there is hindered by the dense vegetation and rough terrain in their native habitats. There they are more often heard than seen.
Reeves’s muntjacs create trails through their territory that they use for ease of movement, similar to white-tailed deer of North America. The foliage along these trails often becomes worn with use. Muntjacs will also trample down and clear areas for bedding down or urinating. Reeves’s muntjac males use their tusk-like canines to defend their territory and gain access to females. They use their short antlers for parrying and sparring and for defensive moves while fighting.
Territories of Reeves’s muntjac females tend to overlap, but male territories tend only to overlap those of females, not of other males. An exception can be observed when males will tolerate the presence of a younger, antlerless male that is not a competitor for females in estrus. This serves the subservient male well because he does not have to fight other males for his own territory and he can get practice sparring with a dominant male. The dominant male benefits because he is gaining a co-defender of territory without giving up any access to females./=\
Reeves's Muntjac Food and Eating Behavior
Reeves’s muntjacs are surprisingly omnivorous (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). Animal foods include birds, mammals, eggs and carrion. Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, wood, bamboo, bark, stems, seeds, grains, nuts, fruit, flowers and fungus. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Reeves’s muntjacs have been observed eating eggs and carrion and are reported to be able to hunt small mammals and ground-nesting birds. In China, they have eaten pheasants snared by hunters. In China, Reeves’s muntjac tend to be aggressively defend their territory it is believed because while food is available year-round, it is not plentiful.
According to Animal Diversity Web: Feeding bouts in Reeves’s muntjacs typically last 30-40 minutes; they are most active at dawn and dusk. As with other ruminants, muntjacs will browse for a short time, then chew their cud for some time. Reeves’s muntjacs are a particularly unfussy eater and will browse on a wide variety of plant and animal materials. In Britain, Reeves’s muntjac has been found to walk up the stems of small saplings in order to reach foliage that would otherwise be out of reach. Reeves’s muntjacs tends to forage with its head held low, making soft growling noises as it moves. /=\
Reeves's Muntjac Senses and Communication
Reeves’s muntjac range
Reeves’s muntjacs sense using touch, sound and chemicals detected by smelling. They communicate with sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also employ pheromones (chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species) and scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
According to Animal Diversity Web: Reeves’s muntjacs use vocalizations and chemical signals as forms of communication. Reeves’s muntjacs tends to bark when it is feeling anxious, generally due to the presence of a predator or a dominant member of their own species. Chemical communication consists primarily of scent marks that are placed on vegetation in order to mark territory. The odors produced by the scent glands themselves may be used for the identification of individuals, but this has not been extensively tested. /=\
When alarmed, Reeves’s muntjacs will bark for up to one hour. This distress call, however, does not appear to be meant to warn others but may simply be a vocalized expression of internal anxiety. This is mainly evidenced by the fact that muntjac barks tend to be emitted within a frequency range that would not carry through the dense vegetation that they inhabit.
Reeves’s muntjacs send signals to others about their identity, their territory and their sexual state using a combination of non-bark vocalizations and chemicals. The non-bark vocalizations that may be emitted by Reeves’s muntjacs are used in reproductive situations where the male makes a buzzing sound and a female that is willing will make a cat-like whine. A main form of communication in Reeves’s muntjac comes through chemicals emitted by the preorbital gland. These chemicals are used as scent markers to define territories and to advertise presence of an individual. Studies have shown that the chemical composition of these secretions would permit muntjacs to identify an individual’s age, sex and population of origin, but the mere presence of these capabilities within the chemical does not mean that the muntjac are using chemical communication in that way./=\
Reeves's Muntjac Mating and Reproduction
Reeves’s muntjacs are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). Females have an estrous cycle, which is similar to the menstrual cycle of human females. Reeves’s muntjacs breed year round in their native habitat in China. In England, they appear to be seasonal breeders, peaking between late October and early March. The mean inter-birth interval is approximately 233 days. The number of offspring ranges from one to two, with the average number of offspring being one. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
According to Animal Diversity Web: Males gain access to females by defending territory that overlaps that of females. The males will fight with the tusk-like canines for access to females in estrous. The males do not use their antlers in offensive moves while fighting like the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus, but they spar extensively while still young, and use the horns in defensive moves while fighting.
When a doe in estrus is located, the male will make a buzzing sound and the female will respond by lying flat, weaving her head and emitting a cat-like whine that is a sign of submission. After copulation, male are no longer involved with the females and once the rut is over, males lose their antlers. Males may grow antlers in a period as rapid as 103 days, which is useful for a species that can breed year-round. /=\
Reeves's Muntjac Offspring and Parenting
The gestation period of Reeves’s muntjacs ranges from 6.97 to 7.33 months, with the average being around seven months. The average weaning age is two months and the average time to independence is six months. Females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 24 weeks or later. Males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 36 to 59 weeks. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Reeves’s muntjac young are precocial. This means they are relatively well-developed when born. During the pre-weaning stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. Pre-independence protection is provided by females. According to Animal Diversity Web: young develop extremely rapidly and are weaned early enough so that by the time that the caloric needs of the young really begin to escalate, they have begun to eat solid foods and are no longer dependent on their mother’s milk. Lactation generally occurs for only the first 17 weeks. Because the young become independent so early, there is no extra cost to a female to produce males (which would generally cost more in nutritional needs from a mother). By the age of six months, adulthood is reached and the young must leave the mother's territory. (Chapman, et al., 1997; Grzimek, 1990) /=\
Both sexes of Reeves’s muntjac develop rapidly so that they may reach their reproductive threshold weights (12 kilograms for bucks, 10 kilograms for does) within a few months of birth. It is unlikely that very young males will be able to gain access to a doe in estrus, but younger males tend to be more reproductively successful than older males due to the quality of their canines. /=\
Reeves's Muntjacs, Humans and Conservation
Reeves’s muntjacs are not endangered. There seems to be healthy numbers of them in China and England. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. [Source: Sara Deuling, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Humans utilize Reeves’s muntjacs for food. They are hunted for meat in China and Britain and for sport in Britain. They have traditionally been appreciated in their native environments for warning humans of the presence of predators in the forest such as tigers and leopards.
Reeves’s muntjacs does not have any reported negative impacts in their native habitat because they tends to live in fairly remote forest environments away from humans. In England, however, they have become the most widely distributed deer and are found urban and suburban areas, as well as forests. They are sometimes regarded as pests to farmers and foresters for eating crops and browsing on vegetation, particularly coppice.
Natural predators in China have traditionally been leopards, tigers, dholes, jackals, crocodiles and pythons. In the introduced populations in England, the only potential predators are foxes. Behavioral differences may be observed among the China and English populations. A lack of predators in England means that Reeves’s muntjac are much less vigilant and comfortable around humans.
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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, 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