Himalayan musk deer have a highly acute sense of smell. As a result, males mark their territories by rubbing their caudal gland against vegetation. This secretion also deters rivals during the breeding season. Himalayan musk deer make a double hiss sound when alarmed and may even scream when wounded. They are also alerted danger through their good sense of hearing.
Communication Channels: acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Himalayan musk deer are listed as endangered on both the IUCN Red List and the US Federal List. CITES lists the small number of Himalayan musk deer that inhabit China in Appendix II and all other Himalayan musk deer in Appendix I.
Himalayan musk deer are threatened by hunting, habitat fragmentation, habitat reduction, and habitat destruction. Because it is difficult to distinguish Himalayan musk deer from similar species such as Moschus chrysogaster, the exact rates of their population declines are debatable. Although many musk deer reside in one of several protected areas, poaching activities continue to increase as musk becomes more valuable.
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: appendix i; appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: endangered
The are no known adverse effects of Himalayan musk deer on humans.
The musk sac of male musk deer is highly sought after by humans. Around 25 g of musk can be extracted from a single musk sac. At market, 1 kg of musk can be worth $45,000 USD, a figure which increases as species populations decrease. Musk is an important component in perfume and is also used in traditional medicinal practices. Additionally, Himalayan musk deer are sought by local people for their fur and meat, which is considered a delicacy.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; source of medicine or drug
As herbivores, Himalayan musk deer facilitate seed dispersal in their environment. Seeds are moved as deer forage and also may cling to their fur. Additionally, Himalayan musk deer are preyed on by leopard, lynx, yellow-throated marten, red fox, grey wolf, wild dogs, and occasionally birds of prey.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Himalayan musk deer are herbivores and feed on what is seasonally available. Accordingly, they eat grasses, forbs, mosses, lichen, twigs, shoots, and plant leaves. They are ruminants, so they can quickly leave feeding grounds if threatened and further digest their food at a later time when safe from harm.
Occasionally, Himalayan musk deer travel great distances at night to forage for food. They may travel 3 to 7 km per night, but they always return to their usual territories by daybreak.
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; bryophytes; lichens
Other Foods: fungus
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Himalayan musk deer reside in the Himalayan mountain range, particularly within the countries of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and a small part of China. The geographic range of the Himalayan musk deer has sharply declined in recent years due to predation, trapping by humans, and habitat destruction.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic ; oriental
Himalayan musk deer are thought to inhabit a similar habitat to their close relative Moschus chrysogaster, which occupies meadows, shrublands, and sparse forests, such as fir forests. Because Himalayan musk deer roam at elevations higher than 2,500 m, their habitat predominantly consists of vegetation typical of alpine regions. This mountainous species is accustomed to navigating moderately to very steep slopes.
Range elevation: 2500 (low) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; mountains
Himalayan musk deer typically live for 10 to 14 years in the wild.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 10 to 14 years.
Himalayan musk deer weigh around 11 to 18 kg and are 86 to 100 cm in length. They are sandy brown in color, with slightly darker rumps and limbs. The ventral side of their bodies ranges from gray to white. The rounded backs and long alert ears of the Himalayan musk deer contribute to their "hare-like" resemblance. Although both sexes have long upper canines, the males' grow longer, up to 7 to 10 cm. The canines break easily, but tooth growth is continuous. In addition, male Himalayan musk deer have a musk sac (between their reproduction organs and umbilicus) and a caudal gland (at the base of their tail), both of which play a role in communication. The musk gland attracts females during mating season, and the caudal gland is used to mark territory. Uniquely, the females have a single pair of mammae. Himalayan musk deer also have gall bladders, a characteristic that distinguishes musk deer from other deer. Additionally, musk deer do not have antlers.
Moschus leucogaster was once considered the same species as Moschus chrysogaster, as both species have similar life history traits and characteristics. Moschus leucogaster was separated from Moschus chrysogaster based on skull size proportions, though it is difficult to distinguish one species from another by sight. Groves, Yingxiang, and Grubb (1995) suggest a difference in the appearance of the throat: while M. chrysogaster have distinct white stripes or a white patch on their throats, this characteristic is vague in Moschus leucogaster, if present at all.
Range mass: 11 to 18 kg.
Range length: 86 to 100 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Himalayan musk deer attempt to conceal themselves within vegetation to avoid predators. The dull brown color of their coats minimizes their chance of detection. Predators include leopard, lynx, yellow-throated marten, red fox, grey wolf, wild dogs, and humans. Large birds of prey also occasionally kill young musk deer. When chased, Himalayan musk deer seek mountainside shelters in which to hide. If none are easily found, the deer use their speed to run in circles, hoping to lose the predator. Himalayan musk deer, however, tire easily, usually after 200 to 300 m of running. They can jump as far as 6 m, which is advantageous when being chased by slower predators
The male musk sac is highly sought after by humans, and hunting and trapping have caused declines in Himalayan musk deer populations. Traps kill not only the desired males, but also females and young deer.
Known Predators:
During the mating season, male Himalayan musk deer become anxious, competitive, and eat little. While protecting their territory, which encompasses the home ranges of several females, males fight one another using their long canine teeth as weapons. The females demonstrate exhaustion and attempt to stay in hiding. The male's musk sac is key in attracting females during the mating season; the sac emanates a strong smell meant to lure the females from hiding.
Himalayan musk deer mate between November and January, although some females may not mate until March. The gestation period is 185 to 195 days. One to two young are typically born between May and June and nurse from their mother for about 2 months. During this time, the young remain in hiding, independent of their mothers except when feeding.
Around 6 months of age, young Himalayan musk deer are weaned and able to consume food from their surroundings, becoming completely independent. Young deer become sexually mature by 16 to 24 months of age.
Breeding interval: Himalayan musk deer breed once yearly.
Breeding season: Mating of Himalayan musk deer occurs between November and January.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Range gestation period: 185 to 195 days.
Average weaning age: 6 months.
Average time to independence: 6 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 16 to 24 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 16 to 24 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Parental investment is minimal in Himalayan musk deer. Young deer nurse from their mothers when necessary but otherwise stay in hiding, unaccompanied by either parent.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female)
The white-bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) is a musk deer species occurring in the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of overexploitation resulting in a probable serious population decline.[1]
It was previously considered a subspecies of the Alpine musk deer, but was separated on the basis of different skull proportions.[2]
White-bellied musk deer are very well adapted for high altitudes; they demonstrate such adaptations as well-developed dew claws, broad toes that provide increased stability on steep slopes, and a dense coat of coarse hairs with air-filled cells to insulate against the extreme temperature.[3] While they lack antlers, a trait notable among all musk deer, they do possess a pair of enlarged and easily broken canines that grow continuously. The maximum length of these tusks is about 10 cm (4 in).[4][5] These deer have a stocky body type; their hind legs are also significantly longer and more muscular than their shorter, thinner forelimbs. In place of running or leaping, this species tends to "bound." Finally, fawns of this species have white spots to help with camouflage, but as they mature these spots disappear.
The white-bellied musk deer has a waxy substance called musk that the male secretes from a gland in the abdomen. The deer use this to mark territories and attract females, but the musk is also used in the manufacture of perfumes and medicines.[6]
Himalayan musk deer occurs in parts of northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and in northern India such as in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. It inhabits high alpine environments above altitudes of 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[1]
During the day, white-bellied musk deer hide in dense cover and are shy and secretive. At night, they emerge to feed in more open habitats, and preferably select leaves of trees and shrubs with high protein and low fibre contents. During the winter, they subsist on poorer quality lichens, and even climb small trees to feed upon leaves that would otherwise be out of reach.[7]
They are fairly sedentary occupying a small home range of up to 22 hectares. Males are fiercely territorial, only allowing females to enter their range. Territories are marked by carefully placed defecation sites and strong-smelling secretions, which are placed onto the surrounding plants.[6] Males fight each other over females during the mating season, and use their long canines to fight and defend their territories. The females hide from all the commotion. For the males to attract the females and bring them out from hiding, they use their strong smelling musk.
A female has one or two young at a time. The young musk deer live off their mother's milk until they are about six months old and able to eat regular foods available in the wild. At 16 to 24 months old, they become sexually mature.[6][7]
Himalayan musk deer can live for up to 10 to 14 years.
Their predators include leopard, snow leopard, Eurasian lynx, red fox, gray wolf. Juveniles were also killed by yellow-throated marten and large raptors.[8]
As the musk the deer produces is in demand for the manufacture of perfumes and medicines, it is highly valuable. Since the species is endangered and hard to find, its value on the wildlife trade market is increased still further. The hunting and trade of the white-bellied musk deer is the main threat to the species. Deer musk may sell for as much as $45,000/kg, making it one of the most valuable animal-derived products in the world.[9] Hunters catch and kill the deer using snares. Only males produce the musk, so this creates a problem because females and young are caught in the traps and killed.
The white-bellied musk deer is protected by law in Bhutan, Nepal, and India. In China, hunting may be permitted in some areas, although a license is required. It is listed as an endangered species in Pakistan and is also found in a number of protected areas throughout; however, the uneven enforcement of legislation across its range has meant little impact on preventing the rampant trade in the species.[10] Improving the enforcement of antipoaching laws is a key priority for the conservation of this species.
Captive farming for musk has been developed in China, and so far has shown that it is possible to extract musk from a deer without having to kill it. However, the captive deer succumb to disease and fighting and produce poorer quality musk. The killing of wild deer is thought to be the most cost-effective method of extracting musk.[11] Open farming is a possible new way to extract the musk, whereby free-ranging or wild musk deer are caught and the musk then extracted, allowing the species to be conserved and survive.[11]
The white-bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) is a musk deer species occurring in the Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because of overexploitation resulting in a probable serious population decline.
It was previously considered a subspecies of the Alpine musk deer, but was separated on the basis of different skull proportions.
