Hog Deer
Encyclopedia
The Hog Deer is a small deer
whose habitat ranges from Pakistan
, through northern India
, to mainland southeast Asia
. There are two subspecies of hog deer: Hyelaphus porcinus porcinus which inhabits much of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Pakistan
, northern India
, Nepal
, Bangladesh
, southwestern Yunnan
Province in China, all the way to western Thailand
. Hyelaphus porcinus annamiticus that inhabits Thailand
, and Indochina
. Introduced populations also exist in Australia
, the United States
and Sri Lanka
.
The hog deer gets its name from the hog-like manner in which it runs through the forests with its head hung low so that it can duck under obstacles instead of leaping over them like most other deer. Cover is taken as soon as it is feasible. During flight, the tail is held erect, showing the white underside.
The hog deer's 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 colour. During late spring, the change to a summer coat of rich reddish brown commences although this may vary between individuals. Many hog deer show a dark dorsal stripe extending from the head down the back of the neck and along the spine. In summer, there is usually a uniform row of light-coloured spots along either side of the dorsal stripe from the shoulders to the rump. The tail is fairly short and brown but tipped with white. The underside of the tail is white and the deer can fan the white hairs out in a distinctive alarm display.
Hog deer have pre-orbital glands on the face just below the eyes and metatarsal glands located high on the side of the rear legs. Pedal glands are located between the cleaves or toes of the hind hooves.
The antler of a mature hog deer stag is typically three tined-brow tine with solid main beam terminating in inner and outer top tines. However, antlers with more points are not uncommon. The distinctive features of typical hog deer antlers are the acute angle between the brow tine and main beam and the fact that the inner tops tend to be short and angle back from the main beam and across towards the opposite antler.
s, leopard
s, dhole
s and sometimes the Burmese python
.
(H. kuhlii) of Bawean
Island in Indonesia
, and the Calamian Deer
(H. calamianensis) of the Calamian Group of Islands in the Philippines
that inhabit moist or dry tropical deciduous forest environments. Unlike the best known western populations of the Hog Deer (A. porcinus), their fawns are not spotted at birth. However, the eastern populations (perhaps equalling the subspecies H. p. annamiticus
) of the Hog Deer also have unspotted fawn. The two island hog deer may be remnants of a widespread population of hog deer that at one time were connected to the hog deer populations of mainland Southeast Asia
and inhabited vast areas of the Sunda Shelf
during times of lower ocean levels.
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
whose habitat ranges from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, through northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, to mainland southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. There are two subspecies of hog deer: Hyelaphus porcinus porcinus which inhabits much of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, southwestern Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
Province in China, all the way to western Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Hyelaphus porcinus annamiticus that inhabits Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. Introduced populations also exist in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
The hog deer gets its name from the hog-like manner in which it runs through the forests with its head hung low so that it can duck under obstacles instead of leaping over them like most other deer. Cover is taken as soon as it is feasible. During flight, the tail is held erect, showing the white underside.
Physiology
A mature hog deer stag stands about 70 cm at the shoulder and weighs approximately 50 kg while hinds are much smaller, standing about 61 cm and weighing in the vicinity of 30 kg. They 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. The ears are rounded; older animals tend to become light coloured in the face and neck.The hog deer's 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 colour. During late spring, the change to a summer coat of rich reddish brown commences although this may vary between individuals. Many hog deer show a dark dorsal stripe extending from the head down the back of the neck and along the spine. In summer, there is usually a uniform row of light-coloured spots along either side of the dorsal stripe from the shoulders to the rump. The tail is fairly short and brown but tipped with white. The underside of the tail is white and the deer can fan the white hairs out in a distinctive alarm display.
Hog deer have pre-orbital glands on the face just below the eyes and metatarsal glands located high on the side of the rear legs. Pedal glands are located between the cleaves or toes of the hind hooves.
The antler of a mature hog deer stag is typically three tined-brow tine with solid main beam terminating in inner and outer top tines. However, antlers with more points are not uncommon. The distinctive features of typical hog deer antlers are the acute angle between the brow tine and main beam and the fact that the inner tops tend to be short and angle back from the main beam and across towards the opposite antler.
Behaviour
Hog deer are gregarious only when conditions are favorable and do not form a "unit" at these times, fleeing in different directions rather than in a herd. When alarmed, hog deer make a whistling vocalization or a warning bark. Home ranges vary widely in size, but average about 0.70 km². Males are aggressive, and may become territorial at low population densities, marking the boundaries with glandular secretions. During the rut, males gather in open meadows, pawing the ground during antagonistic encounters. Harems are not created, with males courting and defending a single female at any given time. Unlike many other deer species, hog deer do not have a rutting call. Population densities may be as low as 0.1 animals per square kilometer in riverine valleys, rising to over 19 individuals per square kilometer in grassy flood plains.Predators
Predators include Bengal tigerBengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
s, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s, dhole
Dhole
The dhole is a species of canid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the only extant member of the genus Cuon, which differs from Canis by the reduced number of molars and greater number of teats...
s and sometimes the Burmese python
Burmese Python
The Burmese Python is the largest subspecies of the Indian Python and one of the 6 largest snakes in the world, native to a large variation of tropic and subtropic areas of Southern- and Southeast Asia. They are often found near water and are sometimes semi-aquatic, but can also be found in trees...
.
Relatives
There are two separate but similar island hog deer species: The Bawean DeerBawean Deer
The Bawean deer, Hyelaphus kuhlii, also known as Kuhl's hog deer or Bawean hog deer, is a highly threatened species of deer found only in the island of Bawean in Indonesia....
(H. kuhlii) of Bawean
Bawean
Bawean is an island of Indonesia located approximately 150 km north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately 15 km in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by...
Island in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and the Calamian Deer
Calamian Deer
The Calamian Deer, Hyelaphus calamianensis, also known as Calamian Hog Deer, is an endangered species of deer found only in the Calamian Group of Islands of Palawan province of the Philippines...
(H. calamianensis) of the Calamian Group of Islands in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
that inhabit moist or dry tropical deciduous forest environments. Unlike the best known western populations of the Hog Deer (A. porcinus), their fawns are not spotted at birth. However, the eastern populations (perhaps equalling the subspecies H. p. annamiticus
Indochinese Hog Deer
The Indochinese Hog Deer or Thai Hog Deer is a subspecies of hog deer native to Cambodia, Laos, People's Republic of China and Vietnam. It has been extirpated from Thailand....
) of the Hog Deer also have unspotted fawn. The two island hog deer may be remnants of a widespread population of hog deer that at one time were connected to the hog deer populations of mainland Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and inhabited vast areas of the Sunda Shelf
Sunda Shelf
Geologically, the Sunda Shelf is a south east extension of the continental shelf of Southeast Asia. Major landmasses on the shelf include the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Madura, Bali and their surrounding smaller islands. It covers an area of approximately 1.85 million km2...
during times of lower ocean levels.