Subscribe to
"Animal of the day"

AddThis Feed Button
Or subscribe by e-mail

Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

We hope that reader will gain an increased appreciation of the need for more conservation measure in order to protect the beautiful creatures that inhabit the earth. Our philosophy is that the more we learn about animals, the more we respect them and take better care of them. That is why we update this blog with new animals, We encourage you to syndicate our content by adding "animal of the day" to your own blog! (read more)

About us

Our mission is to get people excited about animals and their welfare by writing articles on these animals. We encourage people to comment on posts and share with others. Don't forget to subscribe to our feed.

Contact us
Copyright notice

Funny animal videos and pictures

Swimming with manatees - harmful or helpful

Calendar

« March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Archives

Next Archive

01 Nov - 30 Nov 2015
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2015
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2013
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2013
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2013
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2013
01 May - 31 May 2013
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2013
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2013
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2013
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2013
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2012
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2012
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2012
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2012
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2012
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2012
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2012
01 May - 31 May 2012
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2012
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2012
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2012
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2012
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2011
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2011
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2011
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2011
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2011
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2011
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2011
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2011
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2011
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2010
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2010
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2010
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2010
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2010
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2010
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2010
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2009
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2009
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2009
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2008
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2008
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2008
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2008
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2008
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2008
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2008
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2007
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2007
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2007
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2007
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2007
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2007
01 May - 31 May 2007
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2007
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2007
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2007
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2007
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2006
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2006
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2006
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2006
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2006
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2006
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2006
01 May - 31 May 2006
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2006
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2006
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2006
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2006
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2005
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2005
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2005
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2005
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2005
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2005

Animal pictures
Mammals.start4all.com
Animal diversity web
Recently extinct animals forum
Another chance to see

Miscellany

AddThis Feed Button

« The Japanese Macaque … | Home | Long-nosed Potoroo --… »

Greater Mouse Deer - Gives Peek at What Extinct Animals Were Like

Greater mouse deerThe greater mouse deer (Tragulus napu) is not a true deer, although it has some deer-like characteristics. Also called the Malay tapu (tapu is the local name for the animal) this curious and cute creature is classified as an ungulate. Ungulates are any creatures with hooves. Deer are also classified as ungulates. But unlike deer, female greater mouse deer are larger than males. They also do not have a specific rutting season. The greater mouse deer breeds any time.

Although not considered endangered, the greater mouse’s natural habitat is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Although extinct in Singapore, it can still be found in the dwindling forests of Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, the Indonesian islands and the Malaysian Islands. They eat leaves, bugs, shrubs, twigs and grasses, although the latter is rarely found in thick tropical forests. This is the same diet that many now-extinct mammals such as the earliest known horse ate. Today’s mouse deer strongly resemble the fossils of eohippus.

General Description

In profile, this species has a body shaped like a furry brown pear laying on its side with four slim legs. Some people describe the greater mouse deer as a "stretched out guinea pig." The neck is very short, the rump very wide in comparison to the small, narrow head. They have much smaller ears in comparison to true deer. A black stripe connects the black-rimmed ears across the large eyes to the small black nose.

Although tiny for an ungulate, it is the largest mouse deer species in the world. Males stand 12 inches (30 cm) from the bottom of the hoof to the tops of their shoulders. Females can grow as large as 14 inches (35 cm.) Their bodies are longer than they are tall. Males are 2.3 feet (70 cm) long, while females can grow as long as 2.5 feet (75 cm.) Males can weigh about 11 pounds (5 kilograms) while females can tip the scales at 17.6 pounds (8 kilograms.)

Behavior

Not much is known about the behavior of wild greater mouse deer, since these are incredibly shy nocturnal animals. Unlike deer, they live solitary lives instead of moving in herds. They only come together to mate. Instead of antlers, male greater mouse deer have tusks. Gestation is 152 – 155 days long. Females can mate within a few days of giving birth to their single babies. Meanwhile, babies can stand within a half-hour of being born and can run with their mothers from predators like birds of prey, humans, feral dogs and monitor lizards.

Although solitary, greater mouse deer constantly communicate to others of their kind through scent-marking. Along with urine and feces, they rub their chins on branches or rock outcroppings. A gland in their chin produces a scent distinctive to other mouse deer. They also can communicate by sound. When scared, greater mouse deer rapidly drum their hooves on the ground. They can be tamed, but ideally should live in the wild. With luck, they can live up to 14 years old.

Picture of the greater mouse deer by Brian Gratwicke, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.


Add your thoughts about this animal:

You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook
  
Remember personal info?

Emoticons / Textile

Comment moderation is enabled on this site. This means that your comment will not be visible on this site until it has been approved by an editor.

  ( Logged in as )

Notify:
Hide email:

Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.