Facts about Eld's Deer/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

Eld's Deer

Physical Description

Eld’s deer are known for a smaller tine grows toward the front of the head and is especially noticeable. The antlers are shed per annum and reach their largest size during the breeding season.

The imposing species features 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 possess darker coloring than hinds and possess a thick mane of long hair round the neck. The tail is brief long and therefore the rump has no distinct patch. The antlers, bow - or lyre-shaped, tend to grow outward then inward; a smaller branch grows toward the front of the top .

Size

Males grow to about 180 centimeters and 125 to 175 kilograms. They are taller and larger than females that stand 150 centimeters tall.
Native Habitat
The Eld’s deer is indigenous to Southeast Asia and was formerly cosmopolitan 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. Today, Eld’s deer occur during a number of protected areas throughout their former range.

Local projects have helped raise public awareness and support for conserving the deer. This population has grown so large, in fact, that Eld’s deer are translocated to other parts of the island, and a community education project was initiated to boost local awareness about the plight of the deer and therefore 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.

Food/Eating Habits

Eld’s deer are closely related to areas that are seasonally burned, eating the new grasses as they emerge after the hearth . 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. 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

During the mating season, females and their young take in herds of up to 50 individuals. Males move singly except 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, a single fawn is born between Oct. and Nov. Like most deer species, hinds hide their young immediately after birth, concealing them within 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 dissolve as they grow.

Lifespan

Females can live up to 20 years and Male up to 17. No record about the Eld's deer's lifespan within the wild.