Hello! We are the smallest deer called Hog Deer. Notice that Deer is singular and also plural. We got this name due to the fact that we run through the forests with our heads hung low so that we can duck under obstacles instead of leaping over them like most other deer.
Know more about us below.
- We are very shy and timid animals and get frightened very easily.
- Unlike other deer, we are solitary animals meaning we live alone and only form groups in the breeding season. Females of our species live with their calves.
- We are very alert for threats and flee in the water when we see a threat. We are good swimmers.
- Do you know? We have eyes on the sides of our head which gives us 310 degrees sight of the environment.
- We can hear very high-pitched sounds that even you humans cannot hear.
SOME QUICK NOTES:
Our Scientific Name: Hyelaphus Porcinus.
Our Identification: Small deer with small legs and head hung low while running.
Our Habitat: Open plains, tall grasslands, floodplains near rivers.
Our Range:
Our Food Habits: Herbivorous, feed on all types of grasses, plants, fruits, leaves, shrubs, and twines.
Our Breeding Period: Throughout the year.
Number of calves born: 1
Our Gestation period: 220-230 days
Our Lifespan: About 20 years
IUCN red list status: Endangered
CITES: Not Listed
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Cervidae
Family: Cervinae
Genus: Hyelaphus
Species: H. Porcinus
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
Hog Deers are scientifically called as Hyelaphus Porcinus.
HOW WE LOOK:
Males(stags) of our species are about 70 cm at the shoulder and weigh about 50 kg while female(hinds) are much smaller, standing about 61 cm and weighing around30 kg.
We are very solidly built with a long body and relatively short legs and the line of the back slopes upward from the shoulders to a high rump.
Our ears are rounded. As we age, we tend to become light colored in the face and neck. Our coat is quite thick and generally a uniform dark brown in winter except for the underparts of the body and legs which are lighter in color.
During late spring, the change to a summer coat of rich reddish brown commences although this may vary between individuals. Males and females look similar to each other and the young ones look like adult females.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We prefer living in habitats like open plains, tall grasslands, floodplains near rivers.
Our range lies in Pakistan, Northern India, Southeast Asia, Nepal, Bangladesh, southwestern Yunnan Province in China, Western Thailand.
We are also Introduced in Australia and Sri Lanka.
WHAT WE EAT:
Being herbivorous, we eat all types of grasses, plants, fruits, leaves, shrubs, and twines.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
Males of our species are aggressive and become territorial at low population densities. The dominant male of our kind mates with the females. The breeding period is all around ther year but peaks in September and October.
The gestation period is 220–230. Fawns wean at six months, reaching sexual maturity at eight to 12 months. The maximum recorded lifespan of our species is 20 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
When alarmed, we make a whistling vocalization or a warning bark.
We have many predators like Tiger, Leopard, Crocodiles, etc.
OUR CONSERVATION:
Our populations have experienced dramatic declines in the past few decades, and now we survive only in isolated pockets of suitable habitat.
Between 1991 and 2012, In Southeast Asia, our populations declined by over 90%, with central Cambodia holding the last remaining scattered populations.
Kaziranga National Park (India) is one of our species’ strongholds, with a population estimated at 15,000 individuals.
We are listed as Endangered species in the red list of IUCN and protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Schedule I.
