Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Marsh Deer - Blastocerus dichotomus
Topic Started: Nov 10 2012, 01:34 AM (2,474 Views)
Scalesofanubis
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Marsh Deer - Blastocerus dichotomus

Posted Image

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Odocoileinae
Genus: Blastocerus
Species: Blastocerus dichotomus

Posted Image

The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is the largest deer species from South America reaching a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) at the rump. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Formerly found through all of tropical South America today it is reduced to small isolated populations at marsh and lagoon zones in the basins of the rivers Paraná and Paraguay as in the Amazonian region of Peru where it is protected in Bahuaja-Sonehe National Park. It is listed as a vulnerable species, according to CITES, appendix I.

Posted Image

Habitat
The Marsh Deer lives only in marsh areas, pantanal and chaco, usually with the water level reaching half a meter deep. They are swift swimmers. The marshes with their high vegetation density protect them from predators and provide them with food.

Posted Image

Description
They possess very large ears lined with white hairs, reddish brown colored body and long dark legs. The hair turns darker during winter. There are also white marks on the hips and around the eyes. The legs are black below the tarsal as is the muzzle. The tail is of a paler reddish tone than the rest of the body on its upper part and black on the under part. The head-and-body length is 153 to 200 cm (5.02 to 6.6 ft), while the tail adds a further 12–16 cm (4.7–6.3 in). The height at the shoulder can range from 100 to 127 cm (3.3 to 4.17 ft).
The claw, which is large in relation to the body, has elastic interdigital membranes which are useful for swimming and walking on marshy surfaces. Only the males possess antlers which are ramified and reach a length of 60 cm (23 inches). An adult typically grows to a weight of 80 to 125 kg (180 to 280 lb), although an occasional big male can weigh up to 150 kg (330 lb).
They are solitary animals or living in groups with less than 6 individuals with only an adult male. Their main predators are the jaguar and the puma.
Usually the rutting season coincides with summer but can change from animal to animal. Pregnancy lasts about 200 days. The offspring (normally one per female, though occasionally twins are born) are born between October and November. The infant deer are whitish which becomes more adult-like after a year.

Posted Image

Conservation
The natural predators of the Marsh Deer – the Jaguar (locally called onça or yaguaraté) (Panthera onca) and the Puma (Puma concolor)— have almost completely disappeared from its habitat. The former major threat was poaching for its antlers, but this is now under control. Destruction of its habitat presents nowadays the major threat to marsh deer. The dam at Yacyretá altered an area in which several hundred individuals lived and the draining of marshes for farmland and cattle threaten hundreds of hectares every year in Argentina and Brazil. Contagious diseases from cattle are also a problem, though it has been shown that the deer is not affected by brucellosis.

Posted Image
Edited by Taipan, Nov 12 2012, 08:45 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forums with no limits on posts or members.
« Previous Topic · Mammalia · Next Topic »
Add Reply