Siberian musk deer. Sakhalin musk deer, lifestyle and distribution area What the musk deer eats

musk deer, this is an unusual artiodactyl, which gave rise to many myths and superstitions associated with its feature - long fangs. Because of these fangs growing from the upper jaw, the deer long time was considered a vampire who drinks the blood of other animals.

AT old times people considered him evil spirit, and the shamans tried to get his fangs as a trophy. The name of the deer in Greek means "bearing musk". 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.

Habitat

Almost the entire world population of musk deer is distributed in the north. The habitat of the species is the mountains of Altai, Sayan, the systems of the mountains of Eastern and Yakutia, the Far East and Sakhalin. Deer live in all taiga forests of mountainous areas.

On the southern territories the species lives in small pockets in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Korea, Nepal. There was also a deer in, near the foothills of the Himalayas, but it is practically exterminated there at the present time.

The same fate befell him in the mountains of Vietnam. Musk deer lives in dense forests on steep mountain slopes. Most often you can meet him at an altitude of 600-900 meters, but they are also found at 3000 meters in the mountains of the Himalayas and Tibet.

Musk deer very rarely migrate, preferring to stay in a selected area of ​​the territory. Females and deer of the year have a small territory, while adult males, older than three years old, occupy up to 30 hectares. taiga forest for their lands.

Females and underyearlings are mainly guided by the amount of food, and the habitat of individual males depends on the number of females in the territory, and the absence of other males. On the territory of each male usually live from one to three females.

This unpretentious deer has adapted to life even in boreal northern forests. Temperature fluctuations from East Siberian taiga very high: from -50 to +35 C⁰, but still these artiodactyls live there too.

Starting from the right bank of the Siberian Yenisei and up to Pacific Ocean, a gloomy, endless taiga grows, three-quarters of which are in the belt permafrost. Vast plateaus and ridges, covered with dense forests of fir, cedar, and spruce, are completely impassable.

And only narrow animal paths between fallen trees will help the traveler find a landmark. These dreary, cold, empty forests, completely overgrown with lichens and mosses, were chosen by musk deer for their home.

Lifestyle

Despite the seeming gloom of these taiga forests, deer feel safe there. After all rare beast can sneak up on them silently. brown bear or a wolf is almost impossible to get close to the musky deer musk deer- the crack of broken branches will surely warn the victim, and she will quickly take off.

Even the agile wolverine, lynx and Far Eastern marten are not always able to catch this dodgy deer - it can change direction sharply by 90 degrees and confuse the tracks like a hare.

Only on days of snowstorms and winds, when the forest cracks and branches break, the musk deer will not hear the creeping predator. The deer has a chance to hide if he manages to do it at a short distance.

The musk deer cannot run for a long time, physically its body is very dodgy, but shortness of breath quickly appears at high speed, the deer has to stop to rest, and on straight terrain it cannot hide from the swift and hardy ones.

But in the mountainous areas, the musk deer has developed its own tactics of protection from persecution. She confuses the trail, winds, and goes to places inaccessible to her enemies, making her way there along narrow ledges and ledges.

AT safe place the deer waits out the danger. Natural data allow the musk deer to jump from ledge to ledge, to pass along narrow, only a few tens of centimeters cornices.

But if it is possible to escape from a lynx or a marten in this way, then when a person is hunting for a musk deer, this feature is taken into account by experienced hunters, and even their dogs specially drive the musk deer to the places of sludge so that a person can wait for a deer there.

The value of musk deer for humans

BUT musk deer hunting has been going on 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 that produces muscle.

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

Even the ancient Arab healers mentioned in their annals the musk of musk. In Rome and Greece, musk was used to make incense. In the East, it was used for cooking medicines for rheumatism, heart vascular diseases, to increase potency.

In Europe, steel apply jet Siberian musk deer in the cosmetic and perfume industry. In China, more than 400 types of medicines have been created on the basis of musk.

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.

Nutrition

Small in size (no more than 1 meter in length and 80 cm in height) musk deer weighs only 12-18 kilograms. The diet 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 to new winter.

While feeding, it can climb sloping tree trunks, jump along branches and climb to a height of 3-4 meters. Unlike domestic animals, wild deer do not eat out food completely, but try to collect lichens little by little so that the feeding area is preserved. Musk deer you do not have to share your food with other animals, so there is always enough food.

Reproduction and lifespan

The deer's solitary lifestyle changes when the rutting season begins. In November-December, males begin to actively mark the territory with their odorous glands, put up to 50 marks per day. For this, hills are used.

They try to expand their territory, and often meet with neighbors. In the struggle for a place under the sun, and therefore for a female, deer are quite fierce battles. When meeting, two males first simply walk around each other at a distance of 6-7 meters, exposing their fangs and rearing their hair, thus giving themselves confidence and extra size.

Most often, the younger deer leave the area. In the case when the forces are equal, a fight begins, where sharp fangs and hooves are used. Deer spare no effort, break off their fangs and deeply injure each other in the fight.

After mating, the female bears 1-2 cubs, which are born in the summer, and reach sexual maturity in 15-18 months. They live only about five years. In captivity, their age reaches 10-12 years.

Currently, the musk deer population in the country has about 125 thousand individuals. Although in the old days the musk deer was almost completely exterminated, the species still survived, and now it belongs to the commercial ones. The number is regulated by hunting farms and a certain number of permits are issued for shooting musk deer in different regions countries.

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

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

2.This little 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 to prepare medicines for rheumatism, cardiovascular diseases, and 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 do not have to share their 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 settled, one by one 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.

(Moschidae). Latin name species comes from other Greek. μόσχος - musk. Moschiferus translates as "bearing musk".

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Appearance

In my own way appearance and behavior of the musk deer occupies an intermediate position between deer and deer. The length of her body is up to 1 m, the tail is 4-6 cm, the height at the withers is up to 70 cm; weight - 11-18 kg. The hind legs are unusually long; therefore, in a standing musk deer, the sacrum is 5-10 cm higher than the withers. The tail is short.

Unlike deer, to which the musk deer is sometimes referred, it does not have antlers. Males have long curved fangs protruding from under the upper lip by 7-9 cm; serve as a tournament weapon. They also have a musk-producing abdominal gland.

The coat of the musk deer is thick and long, but brittle. Color brown or brown. In young animals, fuzzy light gray spots are scattered on the sides and along the back. 0/3 incisors, 1/1 canines (the upper ones in the male are very strongly developed and protrude from the mouth in the form of tusks directed downwards and somewhat bent backwards, 5-7 cm long), 6/6 molars, no horns and lacrimal fossae; stomach with 4 sections; the tail is very short. The overall build is reminiscent of deer. The hooves are thin, sharp and can be strongly moved apart, and the animal also relies on underdeveloped hooves. Thick fur, red-brown or yellow-brown, white below; body length up to 90-100 cm, shoulder height 50-55 cm (the female is somewhat smaller).

Spreading

The musk deer is distributed from the Eastern Himalayas and Tibet to Eastern Siberia, Korea and Sakhalin, inhabiting the steep slopes of mountains overgrown with coniferous forest. Keeps mainly at an altitude of 600-900 m, less often up to 1600 m above sea level; only in Tibet and the Himalayas rises to a height of 3000 m or more.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Favorite habitats of musk deer are dark coniferous areas of the taiga with placers and rock outcrops. In these areas, animals live settled, singly (rarely in groups), occupying individual plots on average from 30 hectares in summer to 10-20 hectares in winter.

The musk deer is an excellent jumper, almost unparalleled in maneuverability. It is capable of galloping, without slowing down, to change the direction of travel by 90 °. Fleeing from the pursuer, the musk deer, like a hare, confuses the tracks.

The diet of the musk deer is dominated by epiphytic and terrestrial lichens. In winter, their share in her diet is 65-95%. This feeding habit determines the distribution of musk deer over isolated areas. As an additive to the diet, it also eats fir and cedar needles, some umbrella plants, blueberry leaves, ferns, horsetails and others. vegetable feed. Usually animals feed near windfall trees covered with lichens, eat them from fallen branches and collect lichen litter from the snow surface. The foraging musk deer can climb an inclined tree trunk or jump from branch to branch up to a height of 3-4 m.

The musk deer has a lot natural enemies. In the Far East, her main enemy is the kharza, which hunts musk deer in families. Often the lynx lies in wait for the musk deer; a wolverine and a fox are chasing.

Social structure and reproduction

Musk deer keeps alone, less often - in groups of up to three heads. In family groups, contacts between animals are peaceful, but they are extremely aggressive towards strangers. During the rut, real fights take place between males of the same age - the animals seem to be chasing each other, trying to hit the croup, ridge or neck of the enemy with their front legs or fangs. During prolonged fights, one of the fighters often knocks the other to the ground, kicks him, and then plunges his fangs into him, which can lead to the death of the vanquished.

Musk deer mate in December-January. After 185-195 days, females give birth to 1-2 cubs.

Young musk deer reach sexual maturity at the age of 15-18 months. Their life expectancy in nature is 4-5 years, 10-14 years in captivity.

Musk deer

On the belly of the male musk deer is located musk glandfilled with a thick, pungent-smelling brown-brown secret. One gland of an adult male contains 10-20 g of natural musk - the most expensive product of animal origin.

The chemical composition of musk is very complex: fatty acids, wax, aromatic and steroid compounds, cholesterol esters. The main carrier of musky odor is the macrocyclic ketone muscone. Volatile components of musk carry information about the age and condition of the male and can accelerate estrus in females.

The first mention of musk in Europe dates back to 390 AD. e. Medieval doctors Ibn Sina and Serapino knew about him. In the XIV century. Marco Polo pointed to the presence of especially valuable musk in the country of Eringul, apparently located on the territory of modern Mongolia or Western China. Musk in the East was added to medicines for melancholy, and was also worn in bags on the chest to prevent the evil eye and spoilage. Musk was also widely used by Arab and Tibetan folk healers as a means to enhance sexual potency in men.

Musk is widely used in oriental medicine at the present time. In China, it is part of more than 200 prescription drugs.

In Europe, musk medical preparation It does not enjoy much success, but here it has found another application - in the perfume industry as an odor fixative.

In addition to the musk gland, male musk deer have glands on the inner surface of the tail that secrete a secret with a sharp "goat" smell. During defecation, feces, in contact with the gland, acquire this smell.

In the middle of the 20th century, the first musk deer farms appeared in Saudi Arabia, where musk is extracted in a humane way, without injuring the animal.

Animals are caught by stationary box traps, which excludes the development of a defensive reaction in animals to humans as a dangerous stimulus. To attract musk deer to the trap box, food bait is used - lichen or grain. The captured animal is transferred to an immobilization box, the design and dimensions of which do not allow the animal to move. The male is then euthanized with an injection of xylazine in combination with ketamine. Immobilization and sleep last an average of 40 minutes, and full recovery motor activity the beast comes in four to five hours. Before squeezing out the musk, a silver spatula with a groove is first introduced into the bag, through which the secret of the gland is brought out.

After the selection of musk, the immobilized male is kept all this time in a special box.

He gained particular popularity in the Middle East, where black musk is the most popular men's fragrance. Aroma - sharp, tart, persistent.

Classification

• Siberian musk deer (M. moschiferus moschiferus) - extended to

Siberian musk deer is an animal of the artiodactyl group, has great resemblance with a deer. Represents the musk deer family.

Musk deer are most active at dusk and at night.

It feeds mostly on tree and ground lichens, to a lesser extent on thin branches and young shoots, needles and bark, leaves and buds, as well as herbaceous plants.

As a rule, animals rarely stay together, more often alone. In relation to foreign individuals, they are capable of displaying extreme aggression. During the mating season, musk deer males fight in rather fierce fights, which can lead to the death of a weaker animal. Mating takes place in December - January, and after 185-195 days, females give birth to 1 or 2 cubs. They reach sexual maturity at 15-18 months of age.

One of the main natural enemies of the Siberian musk deer is the charza. In addition, she is persecuted by lynx and wolverine, fox and wolf, sable and bear.

The musk deer must have time to hide from predators at a short distance, because high speed over a long distance causes rapid onset of shortness of breath, as a result of which the animal is forced to make stops for rest. The advantage of the musk deer is its high maneuverability, the ability to confuse tracks, dodge, make your way through places that are hard to reach for pursuers, due to which the chances of survival increase.

Intensive hunting for the Siberian musk deer is caused by great demand and the highest price of the musk it secretes. Musk has always been of particular value due to the presence in its composition of diverse organic matter, as a result of which it can have a general stimulating effect and be used in medicinal purposes. Wide application It is also used in the manufacture of perfumes.

The result of illegal hunting and habitat destruction due to deforestation and fires there has been a rapid decrease in the number of musk deer. If as of 1988 this figure was 160-170 thousand individuals, then in 2012 there were only 34-37 thousand.

Thus, the animal is under the threat of destruction, which requires the adoption and implementation of certain measures in order to prevent the extermination of the species.

One of these measures is the inclusion of the Siberian musk deer in the Red Book of Russia. In addition, the animal is included in the list and the International Red Book, where it is designated as "vulnerable species".

In addition, the Convention on international trade endangered animal species and flora control over the trade in the musk of this unusual animal is being carried out, which is also necessary in order to avoid the destruction of the musk deer as a population.