White-bellied musk deer
The white-bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer is a musk deer species occurring in the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of overexploitation resulting in a probable serious population decline.
It was previously considered a subspecies of the Alpine musk deer, but was separated on the basis of different skull proportions.
Characteristics
White-bellied musk deer are very well adapted for high altitudes; they demonstrate such adaptations as well-developed dew claws, broad toes that provide increased stability on steep slopes, and a dense coat of coarse hairs with air-filled cells to insulate against the extreme temperature. While they lack antlers, a trait notable among all musk deer, they do possess a pair of enlarged and easily broken canines that grow continuously. The maximum length of these tusks is about 10 cm. These deer have a stocky body type; their hind legs are also significantly longer and more muscular than their shorter, thinner forelimbs. In place of running or leaping, this species tends to "bound." Finally, fawns of this species have white spots to help with camouflage, but as they mature these spots disappear.The white-bellied musk deer has a waxy substance called musk that the male secretes from a gland in the abdomen. The deer use this to mark territories and attract females, but the musk is also used in the manufacture of perfumes and medicines.
Distribution and habitat
Himalayan musk deer occurs in Nepal, Bhutan, and in northern India such as in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and in China in southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region. It inhabits high alpine environments above elevations of.Ecology and behaviour
During the day, white-bellied musk deer hide in dense cover and are shy and secretive. At night, they emerge to feed in more open habitats, and preferably select leaves of trees and shrubs with high protein and low fibre contents. During the winter, they subsist on poorer quality lichens, and even climb small trees to feed upon leaves that would otherwise be out of reach.They are fairly sedentary occupying a small home range of up to 22 hectares. Males are fiercely territorial, only allowing females to enter their range. Territories are marked by carefully placed defecation sites and strong-smelling secretions, which are placed onto the surrounding plants.
Males fight each other over females during the mating season, and use their long canines to fight and defend their territories. The females hide from all the commotion. For the males to attract the females and bring them out from hiding, they use their strong smelling musk.
A female has one or two young at a time. The young musk deer live off their mother's milk until they are about six months old and able to eat regular foods available in the wild. At 16 to 24 months old, they become sexually mature.
Himalayan musk deer can live for up to 10 to 14 years.
Their predators include the leopard, snow leopard, Eurasian lynx, red fox, and gray wolf. Juveniles have been reported to be killed by yellow-throated marten and large raptors.