Musk deer animal. Lifestyle and habitat of musk deer. 50 Interesting and Curious Facts About the Musk Deer Mating and Breeding Period

Musk deer is an animal that has given rise to many myths and superstitions. Its extraordinary appearance has long attracted the attention of naturalists, who were ready to easily travel hundreds of kilometers through the mountains, just to see this creature live. Even today, interest in him still has not faded.

What kind of miraculous animal is the musk deer, the description of which has so many curious facts? Why is it so remarkable? And why is it protected? World Organization animal rights?

What a wondrous animal?

The animal musk deer is one of the true, it is very different from its closest relatives in both size and appearance. Another name for it is musk deer. The animal musk deer gained its fame due to two reasons: unusual fangs and musk.

This deer has two front fangs that grow from the upper jaw. Because of them, the musk deer gained fame as a vampire hunting other animals. Furthermore, earlier people believed that this beast - evil spirit, and shamans often hunted him in order to get teeth as a magical trophy.

The time of superstition has sunk into oblivion, but the persecution of these animals has not stopped. After all, the animal musk deer is known for another feature, namely musk. It was this substance that became the target of many poachers who were ready to destroy the whole species, just to get such a coveted reward.

Appearance

What does a musk deer look like? In the photo, the animal resembles a cross between a roe deer and a deer, though without horns. It just so happens that this species is completely devoid of bone growth on the head, as well as tear pits under the eyes.

The length of the musk deer rarely grows more than one meter. As for its height, at the moment the largest specimen seen was no more than 80 cm. At the same time, its weight ranges from 12 to 18 kilograms. The color of the coat can vary from dark brown to light brown.

The musk deer is an animal known for its long fangs. True, only males have them and can reach up to 7 cm in length. For musk deer, they serve as a tool of protection, and only in mating season Cavaliers may use them as a way to prove their superiority over others.

Animal musk deer: habitat

This animal prefers highlands, and therefore the main habitat of its habitat is indicated by the mountains of China and Tibet. But you can also meet him in Russia. So, musk deer is found on a very vast territory: starting from the lower Altai and ending with the Amur itself.

The favorite place of the musk deer is the forest. Therefore, it is here that the animal spends most time. However, this does not mean that the deer does not wander high into the mountains. So, there is evidence that some individuals live in the Himalayas, at an altitude of more than 3000 m above sea level.

Musk deer habits

This type of deer is accustomed to a solitary lifestyle. This rule is violated only during the mating season, and then not for long. By the way, during mating games male musk deer become very aggressive towards each other. Quite often, their skirmishes lead to bloody fights on fangs, which is sometimes fatal.

In the rest of the year, they lead a quiet and measured lifestyle. They feed mainly on moss and fresh leaves. Therefore, the rumor that the musk deer drinks blood is just an empty superstition that has nothing to do with the truth.

In addition, the musk deer is very shy, any danger makes him run without looking back. At the same time, it is almost impossible to catch up with him. Thanks to special structure body, he can change the trajectory of the run, without even slowing down.

The Musk Hunt

In the old days, the musk deer population was not threatened. Her meat was not suitable for consumption, as it had an unpleasant aftertaste. As for the skin, although it retained heat, it was still much worse than that of other animals. So the only enemies of the deer were the shamans and mystics who harvested their fangs. But everything changed at the moment when Chinese alchemists began to use musk in their medicines.

For those who do not know, musk is a viscous substance that has a tart smell. Each male musk deer has a special gland that secretes this secret. It was she who became the object of hunting for many healers and healers. According to the Chinese traditional medicine, then there are more than 200 potions and ointments infused with musk.

A little later, this substance began to be used in perfumery. Due to the astringency of the aroma, it quickly gained popularity among fashionistas and fashionistas of the time. Consequently, the pursuit of musk only intensified.

Ultimately, musk deer were hunted by everyone who wanted to make quick money. This led to the fact that the number of these animals decreased to such a limit that they were on the verge of complete extinction.

Fight for the rights of musk deer

Fortunately, the world is not without good people. A similar decline in the number of musk deer caused outrage from animal rights activists. And so they began to take active steps to protect them.

Thanks to their intervention, the musk deer was listed in the Red Book, and the poachers who hunt it were held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Such measures saved the animal from extinction, although the full restoration of the number of musk deer will not happen soon.

Beast in captivity

However, with the advent of a ban on hunting, the need for musk did not disappear. And so the farmers tried to breed a species that can live in captivity. The first attempts were unsuccessful, as the musk deer died very quickly. But over time, it still turned out to breed a breed that lives according to the rules of man.

True, as the farmers themselves assure, caring for her is still that job. In particular, a lot of trouble arises during the period when the males are ready to mate. And yet this approach greatly helped wild musk deer, reducing the demand for their glands.

• Previously, the appearance of musk deer in the vicinity of the village foreshadowed grief. Therefore, after such a visit, the shamans performed rituals to drive away evil spirits.
• Running away from the enemy, the musk deer behaves like a real hare. It winds from side to side, and in the event of a predator approaching, it can jump high and change its trajectory by 90 degrees with lightning speed.
• In 1845, the musk deer population was over 250,000 individuals. A hundred years later, this number dropped to 10,000, which was the signal to save the musk deer.

1. Musk deer is one of the smallest and most peculiar representatives of artiodactyls - deer of the northern hemisphere.

2. This small deer (some researchers distinguish the musk deer into an independent family) no more than half a meter high at the withers has a number of specific features.

3. Male musk deer have a musk gland on their belly, so these small deer are also called musky. The name of the musk deer is translated from Greek means "bearing musk".

4. Scientists distinguish five subspecies of musk deer: Siberian musk deer, Sakhalin musk deer, Far Eastern musk deer, Verkhoyansk or Arctic musk deer and Korean musk deer.

5. Musk deer is found in eastern Siberia, from the Himalayas and Tibet to Korea and Sakhalin, where it lives on steep mountain slopes overgrown with coniferous forests. It prefers a height of about 600-900 meters for life, less often up to 1600 meters above sea level, although in Tibet and the Himalayas it can rise to 3000 meters and higher.

6. According to the features of appearance, physique and behavior of musk deer in general, they resemble deer. The body length of adults reaches 1 meter, the tail is 4-6 centimeters long, the height is up to 70 centimeters, the weight is in the range from 11 to 18 kilograms.

7. The musk deer has no horns, but the males have strongly developed upper fangs that stick out of the mouth down, and their ends fall below the chin. These fangs grow throughout life, reaching 7-10 centimeters in adult males, while they have a sharp cutting rear edge.

8. In the life of male musk deer, they are as important as the horns of other representatives of deer.

9. In females, the upper fangs are short, and they do not protrude beyond the lip.

10. This animal species is characterized by sexual dimorphism. It manifests itself in the fact that females are always slightly smaller than males in size.

Siberian musk deer

11. Siberian musk deer is an inhabitant of Altai, eastern Siberia, Transbaikalia, northern Mongolia, the Greater and Lesser Khingan and the west of the Stanovoy Range.

12. More than 90% of the total world population of musk deer is concentrated in the northern territory of Russia.

13. mountain systems Eastern Siberia, Yakutia-Sakha, Altai, Sayan, Magadan and Amur regions, the Far East (except Kamchatka) and Sakhalin - everywhere in the mountain taiga forests you can find this little deer.

14. The fur of the animal is thick and long, but brittle. It is dyed brown or Brown color. The sides and back of the young are decorated with indistinct light gray spots. The hairline of the animal consists mainly of guard hairs, there is little down in it.

15. Such a structure of wool provides excellent thermal insulation for musk deer, and when it lies on the snow, the latter does not even melt, unlike deer, elk or roe deer. In addition, the fur is not able to pass water, and thanks to this feature, animals can stay afloat and cross water bodies.

Sakhalin musk deer

16. Sakhalin musk deer - distributed according to the name in Sakhalin.

17. The southern habitats of the musk deer are islands of small foci where the musk deer lives and has been preserved. In addition to Russia, musk deer lives in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Korea, China, Nepal.

18. In India, where the musk deer occupies a biological niche mainly at the upper border of the mountain forests of the Himalayas and in mountain forests Vietnam, this deer is almost universally extirpated and is rare.

19. The same fate befell the musk deer in densely populated Eastern China. In Nepal, it can only be found in certain areas, mainly in well-protected national parks.

20. The appearance of the musk deer has attracted naturalists since ancient times, and many are still willing to travel hundreds of kilometers along mountain trails to see it live.

Far Eastern musk deer

21. Far Eastern musk deer - found in Sikhote-Alin up to the Zeya River.

22. The musk gland of the male musk deer is filled with a thick, pungent-smelling secret, colored brown-brown.

23. One gland of a male musk deer contains about 10-20 grams of musk. It is by far the most expensive animal product.

24. By chemical composition musk complex: includes fatty acid, waxes, compounds of aromatic and steroid nature, cholesterol esters.

25. A specific musky smell is associated with the presence in its composition of the macrocyclic ketone muscone. The volatile components of this secret are indicators of the age and condition of the male and accelerate the estrus of females.

Verkhoyansk or Arctic musk deer

26. Verkhoyansk, or arctic, musk deer - lives on the Verkhoyansk ridge and the Chersky ridge to the Lena River and to the Kolyma, Aldan and Stanovoy ridge.

27. For the first time in Europe, musk became known around 390 AD. e. He was known to the healers of the Middle Ages Ibn-Sina and Serapino.

28. In the 14th century, Marco Polo reported that there is a valuable substance in a certain country Eringul (most likely modern Mongolia or western China). In the East, musk was added to medicines for melancholy, it was worn in special pouches on the chest to prevent the evil eye and spoilage.

29. Musk was used by Arab and Tibetan folk healers to enhance male potency. And now Eastern medicine does not refuse this remedy. The Chinese include musk in almost 200 prescription drugs!

30. Europeans, on the contrary, medicinal properties not used, but widely used in the perfume industry as an odor fixative. The pungent, tart, and persistent scent of musk is especially popular in the Middle East, where it is a recognized masculine scent.

Korean musk deer

31. Korean musk deer - lives on the Korean Peninsula and nearby areas.

32. The musk deer has quite a few natural enemies. On the Far East it is very often attacked by charza, as well as lynxes, wolverines and foxes.

33. In Russia, this species is hunting. The official population size in the country is estimated at 120,000 - 125,000 individuals. Approximately 1,500 animals are killed annually during hunting. The prey is carried out in order to obtain the musk gland, the so-called "jet", therefore they hunt exclusively for males.

34. Musk deer jumps well, is very maneuverable and dexterous. The animal can change the direction of its run by 90° directly while galloping, without slowing down.

35. The male musk deer begins to produce musk at the age of 2 years, and the gland functions until the end of his life. It is located in the lower abdomen, next to the genitals, dried and crushed into powder, it brings 30-50 grams of powder.

36. Hunting for musk deer has been carried out since ancient times. If earlier the goal was to get an unusual skull of a deer with fangs, now the animal is valued for its gland, which produces musk.

37. In nature, males need a jet of musk deer to mark their territory and attract females during the rut. Since ancient times, man has used musk deer musk for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.

38. Even the ancient Arab healers mentioned in their annals the musk of the musk deer. In Rome and Greece, musk was used to make incense.

39. In the east, it was used for cooking medicines for rheumatism, heart vascular diseases, to increase potency. In Europe, they began to use the stream of Siberian musk deer in the cosmetic and perfume industry.

40. In China, more than 400 types of medicines have been created on the basis of musk.

41. Musk deer you do not have to share your food with other animals, so there is always enough food.

42. The food of this small deer is mainly epiphytes and terrestrial lichens. In winter, this is almost 95% of the diet of musk deer. In summer, it can diversify the table with blueberry leaves, some umbrella plants, fir and cedar needles, and ferns. Deer, as it were, let the lichens grow up until the new winter.

43. Musk deer very rarely migrate, preferring to stay in a selected area of ​​the territory. The musk deer prefers to live in dark coniferous areas of the taiga, where there are placers and rock outcrops. Here the animal lives sedentary, one at a time or in small groups of up to 3 individuals, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe individual plot is from 30 hectares in summer and about 10-20 hectares in winter.

44. In groups, musk deer live peacefully with each other, but they always behave very aggressively with other individuals.

45. During the breeding season, males of the same age arrange fights, chasing each other, trying to strike with the help of their front legs or fangs on the rump, ridge and neck. If such a fight is long, then one of the males, as a rule, knocks the second one to the ground, after which he beats with his limbs and sticks his fangs, which often leads to the death of the enemy.

46. ​​The rutting period of the musk deer occurs from December to January. After 185-195 days of pregnancy, females give birth to 1-2 cubs.

47. Reaching puberty occurs on average at 15-18 months.

48. The life span of musk deer in vivo is 4-5 years, in captivity up to 10-14 years.

49. In the middle of the last century on the territory Saudi Arabia musk deer began to be specially grown for obtaining musk in a humane way.

50. The animal is caught in a stationary trap using food bait - lichen or grain. Then they are distilled into an immobilization box so that it does not move, and euthanized by injection. Sleep lasts about 40 minutes, the motor activity of the animal is fully restored after 4-5 hours. During this time, a spatula with a groove is introduced into the gland, through which the secret comes out.

The Siberian musk deer, or fanged deer, inhabits an area stretching from Himalayan mountains and the highlands of Tibet to Eastern Siberia, the Korean Peninsula and Sakhalin Island. Mostly musk deer settles in coniferous forests, covering the steep slopes of the mountains, mainly at an altitude of 600 to 900 meters, and in the Himalayas this deer can be found at an altitude of more than 3000 meters.

Musk deer is a small deer. The length of its body is less than 1 m, the height of the animal at the withers is only 70 cm, and the weight of the musk deer ranges from 11 to 18 kg. Distinctive feature in the structure of the animal - the presence is disproportionate long legs, which the deer can climb without much effort to eat lichens on tree trunks and the needles of some conifers.

In addition, musk deer, unlike ordinary deer, does not have horns, but boasts fangs. Until now, scientists cannot definitely say what musk deer tusks are for. But shamans from ancient times used the fangs of musk deer to conduct mystical rites.

A photo. Siberian musk deer.

For a while, the fanged deer was even considered a vampire that feeds on the blood of animals, but later it turned out that this was not so. Musk deer, like any deer, is a herbivore. Only males have fangs, with the help of which they fight with an opponent during the rut. Sometimes the wounds can be so severe that the defeated male may die.

A photo. Siberian deer with fangs

A distinctive feature of the musk deer is its musk gland, which secretes musk, an aromatic substance used in medicine and perfumery since ancient times.

Especially wide application musk is known in Chinese medicine, where musk is the main ingredient in more than 200 medicines. Indeed, Indian scientists after a series of studies have proven that musk has a beneficial effect on the work of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems and is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent.

A photo. Musk deer.

Due to the presence of a musk gland in the musk deer, whole line wishing to hunt this deer. The hunting of the animal took on perverted forms, as the hunters cut out the iron from the musk deer, leaving the dead animals in the taiga.

Such a barbaric attitude towards little deer led to a sharp decline in its population. Therefore, measures were taken to preserve this species, and the musk deer was included in the Red Book as an endangered species.

To obtain such a valuable musk, musk deer began to be bred on special farms. The first farms of this kind appeared in Saudi Arabia, where musk began to be extracted legally.

A photo. So here he is cute - a deer with fangs

And now we offer a video: Siberian musk deer in wild nature, winter. Beautiful!.

More information about the Siberian deer with fangs can be found in the following video.

see also 9.2.1. Genus Musk deer - Moschus

Siberian musk deer - Moschus moschiferus

(It is usually brown or brown in color with two white stripes along the front of the neck; sometimes (more often in young ones) light gray spots are scattered along the back and sides. The male from under upper lip a pair of thin fangs up to 6 cm long sticks out. In a standing animal, the croup is noticeably higher than the withers. An alarmed musk deer keeps its ears upright, and not spread apart, like a roe deer. Track of a musk deer with two or four clear prints of narrow hooves, 4-5 cm long, on the run, the tracks of the hind legs are often ahead of the tracks of the front ones, like in a hare. Heaps of litter resemble sunflower seeds. The eyes glow yellowish-green at night. Distributed in Siberia east of the Yenisei, in Altai, in the Sayans, the Amur region, Primorye and Sakhalin. Inhabits dense taiga forests, more often mountain forests. It feeds mainly on tree lichens, in summer it also eats herbaceous plants, in winter - fir and cedar needles. Usually lives alone in a deaf dark coniferous taiga with windbreak, deadwood, rock outcrops, often near a stream or a small forest lake. On its site lays a dense network of trails, for the most part passing at the foot of the rocks and along the fallen trunks. In winter, kabarozh trails sometimes turn into deep trenches. Along the trails, the musk deer quickly escapes pursuit. When fleeing, she can turn at full speed at a right angle, stop instantly and pick up speed again with one long jump. If a predator or a specially trained dog still manages to unravel the tracks, the musk deer settles down in the rocks. It is very difficult to see the musk deer. Sometimes you can hear her alarm signal - a characteristic "chiffoy", similar to sneezing.

The rut is at the beginning of winter, at this time musk deer are found in groups of 3-4. Males fight very rarely. Pregnancy lasts more than six months. The female brings 1-2, occasionally 3 spotted cubs, which at first hide in a secluded place, usually in a windbreak. Only by the end of summer do they begin to accompany their mother, who, in case of danger, tries to distract the predator towards herself. The squash become adults on next year.

Males have a gland on their belly that secretes musk. (musk jet). It is used in perfumery and oriental medicine, as well as in the manufacture of odorous baits for predators. At the beginning of the 19th century, in most regions of Russia, the musk deer was almost exterminated, then the number increased due to measures taken for her protection, but in the post Soviet time fell again due to poaching. Basically, musk deer are beaten for the sake of musk, which is in great demand in a number of Eastern countries especially in Japan.

The Sakhalin subspecies is listed in the Red Book of Russia (less than 450 heads have survived). A technology has been developed for breeding musk deer in captivity, but in Russia it has not yet been possible to create enterprises of this kind.

Table 29 164 - wild boar (164a - billhook in winter, 164b - female in summer, 164c - piglet); 165 - Siberian musk deer (165a - male in summer, 165b - female in winter, 165c - newborn calf, 165d - two-week-old calf); 170 - Siberian roe deer (170a - female in summer, 170b - male in winter).

Table 64 165 - litter of musk deer; 173 - saiga litter; 175 - goitered litter; 177 - chamois droppings; 178 - litter Caucasian tour; 181 - litter mountain sheep; 195 - latrine of the northern pika; 202 - litter of a long-tailed ground squirrel; 204 - litter of a small ground squirrel (204a - summer, 204b - winter); 212 - litter gray marmot; 218 - cherry plum eaten by forest dormouse; 250 - eat a large gerbil.

• - artiodactyl well-noe fam. deer, sometimes K. isolated in otd. family...

  Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary

• - breast bone in a bird; from the Tatar "kabyrga" - a rib ...

  Cossack dictionary-reference book

• - ruminant artiodactyl well fam. deer. Length up to 1 m. Males have long tops. fangs, on the abdomen - a gland that secretes musk. Lives in mountains. taiga of Asia. Fishing limited...

  Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

• - musky K. - a ruminant animal that serves as the only representative of a special family of Moschidae. Incisors 0/3, canines 1/1, molars 6/6 horns and lacrimal fossae absent; stomach with 4 sections; tail is very short...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - artiodactyl mammal from the musk deer family. Body length up to 1 m, height at the withers up to 70 cm, weighs up to 17 kg. The hind legs are disproportionately long; therefore, in a standing K., the sacrum is much higher than the withers...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - artiodactyl animal of the ruminant suborder. Length up to 1 m. Males have long upper fangs, on the stomach there is a gland that secretes musk. Dwells in mountain taiga Asia. Fishing limited...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - ́ 1) an animal from the deer family "Moschus moschiferus", Sib.; 2) "skinny, tortured cattle", Voronezh. ; 3) "goat", "breast bone of a bird". Loans. from tel., shore, sag. tabyrɣa "Sib.", Tuvan. toŋurɣy - the same...

  Vasmer's etymological dictionary

• - ; pl. musk deer/, R....

  Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language

• - wives. a goat, a hornless Siberian animal from the deer family, from the male of which, from the abdominal pouch, a musk deer, musk deer or musk deer stream is obtained; Moschus moschiferus. Kabarozhnik, kabarozh fur-catcher, forestry...

  Dictionary Dalia

• - ́, -i, genus. pl. horn, female Siberian and Asian hornless mountain artiodactyl animal similar to roe deer. Family of musk deer. | reduce...

  Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

• - ́, musk deer, genus. pl. kabaro, female . Mountain ruminant in Siberia, from the deer family, with a musky sac in the back of the abdomen in males...

  Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

• - musk deer An artiodactyl hornless mammal of the deer family with a musk gland in the lower abdomen of males, living in the mountain taiga...

  Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova

• - musk deer "a, -" and, genus. n. pl. h. -r "...

  Russian orthographic dictionary

• - To sit in a musk deer with someone. Volg., Don. Annoy someone very much. Glukhov 1988, 147; SDG 3, 118...

  Big dictionary of Russian sayings

• - An animal from the family. two-toed...

  Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

• - ...

  Word forms

"Siberian musk deer" in books

2. Anthrax