The Tufted Deer is an animal that looks really cute, yet also pretty spooky at the same time. It has pale gray fur, huge fangs, and blank eyes. This gives it the appearance of a vampire. So knowing this, what else can be learned from our fanged buddies?
Anatomy and Behavior
As mentioned before, this deer has pale gray skin, a tuft of hair on its head, huge fangs, and black beady eyes. They are also far more active at night, as opposed to in the day. The note about them looking similar to a vampire is kind of ironic, saying that they are herbivores, and eat mainly leaves and vegetation.
They are also distinguished from other deer in the area due to the unique tuft of hair on their heads, which is their namesake. The large fangs only appear on the male deer after puberty and seem to be used primarily in fights with other male deer. This is similar to the way antlers are used, except that these deer do not grow antlers. Male deer patrol their territory and are mostly seen as solitary.
Distribution and Habitat
According to estimates, there is a fair amount of tufted deer left in the wild. 300,000-500,000, but the number is expected to decline in the next few years due to overhunting for their meat and musk. They mainly seem to span from Hong Kong, all the way to Burma, not quite reaching Dhaka.
Their main habitat are mountainous forests near bodies of water. Luckily, those are in abundance in China and southern Asia. With increased deforestation, these animals might be seeing their numbers dwindling faster and faster. So let's hope that these deer are not another animal that goes extinct due to human interaction.