Trivia question for Apr-26-2011

Carter is going to try this rare looking species to see how he does with his trivia.  These guys are very impressive jumpers.  A pregnant female was once seen clearing an 8-foot wall from a standing position.

These deer are regarded as extremely solitary animals, rarely observed with others, except for a mother and her young and during the rutting season. Males acquire territories that they mark with scent markers by rubbing their frontal preorbital gland (located on their head) on the ground and on trees, scraping their hooves against the ground, and scraping the bark of trees with their lower incisors. These scent markers allow others to know whether a territory is occupied or not. Males will often fight with each other over these territories, sufficient vegetation, and for primary preference over females when mating using their short antlers and an even more dangerous weapon, their canines. If a male is not strong enough to acquire his own territory he will most likely become prey to a leopard or some other predator.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what kind of deer this is and where they can be found.  Also, the milk from these creatures is extremely rich in its fat content.  A cows milk has a fat content of about 3.6%, what is the percentage of fat content for these guys?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Nonie for being the first to identify the deer we featured and where they come from.  Great job.  The deer is the Indian Muntjac.  The Common Muntjac, also called the Red Muntjac, Indian Muntjac or Barking deer is the most numerous muntjac deer species. It has soft, short, brownish or greyish hair, sometimes with creamy markings. This species is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, shoots, seeds, birds’ eggs as well as small animals and even carrion. It gives calls similar to barking, usually on sensing a predator (hence the common name for all muntjacs of barking deer).

The Indian Muntjac is among the most widespread but least known of all the animals in South Asia. This species is distributed throughout South Asia, but more densely located in Southeastern Asia.  As for our question regarding the percentage of fat content in their milk, the answer is 15.9% (compared to the 3.6% of fat in cows milk) which ensures their fawns have a healthy start in life.  Here’s more on these feisty deer:  Indian Muntjac

Thanks for playing along 😉