Physical Description
Eld’s deer are known for the impressive bow or lyre shaped antlers of the males (stags), which sweep back in a single curve about 99 centimeters (39 inches) long. A smaller tine grows toward the front of the head and is especially noticeable. The antlers are shed every year and reach their largest size during the breeding season.
The imposing species has a very regal and graceful deer physique. Its legs are long and thin, and it has a long, slender body with a large head and ears. Their coats are rough, coarse and change color with the season. In summer, they are reddish-brown with paler underparts. In winter, their coats are dark brown. Stags tend to have darker coloring than hinds and possess a thick mane of long hair around the neck. The tail is short in length and the rump has no distinct patch. The antlers, bow - or lyre-shaped, tend to grow outward and then inward; a smaller branch grows toward the front of the head.
Size
Native Habitat
The Eld’s deer is indigenous to Southeast Asia and was formerly widely distributed from the Manipur region of northeastern India through much of Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam to the island of Hainan, China, in the east. The deer inhabited suitable forest habitats, lowland valleys and plains, avoiding dense forests and coastal areas. Today, Eld’s deer occur in a number of protected areas throughout their former range.
Local projects have helped raise public awareness and support for conserving the deer. Hainan Datian Nature Reserve on Hainan Island, China, was established in 1976 specifically to help the brow-antlered deer recover, with the population now growing an average of 15 percent annually. This population has grown so large, in fact, that Eld’s deer have been translocated to other parts of the island, and a community education project was initiated to raise local awareness about the plight of the deer and the protected status of the sanctuary. Managed populations exist around the world, but inbreeding is common, and cooperative cross-breeding is required if managed populations are to be genetically varied enough for any future reintroduction programs into the wild.
Lifespan
The maximum recorded lifespan of a male Eld’s deer in human care was 16 years. Females can live up to 20 years in human care. Not much is known about the Eld's deer's lifespan in the wild.
Food/Eating Habits
Eld’s deer are closely associated with areas that are seasonally burned, eating the new grasses as they emerge after the fire. Grass and forbs make up the main part of their diet, which includes a variety of grasses, fruits, herbaceous and wetland plants. The species is known to graze and browse opportunistically on cultivated crops from nearby fields, such as rice, lentils, maize and peas. In human care, Eld’s deer are fed a low-protein herbivore diet and alfalfa hay. During the summer months, they are also given pasture access. Pastures must be free of fescue grass, because the deer are susceptible to fat-necrosis often associated with ingestion of endophyte-infected fescue.
Reproduction and Development
Female Eld’s deer are generally found alone or in pairs with their young. During the mating season, females and their young gather in herds of up to 50 individuals. Males also move around singly, except during mating season. When rutting takes place, males compete with each other to gain control of a harem of females with which they can mate. The breeding season takes place from Feb. to April. After a long gestation period of 34 weeks (220 to 240 days), a single fawn is born between Oct. and Nov. Like most deer species, hinds hide their young immediately after birth, concealing them in the long grass. Fawns are weaned at around five to seven months and become sexually mature at one-and-a-half to two years of age. The young have white spots at birth, which fade away as they grow.
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