Jumping hainan slope deer. (File photo)
Hainan Daily reporter Wang Yingchun
When looking at this group of wilderness elves, although the weeds were hidden and separated by several meters, they immediately understood the description of "deer-like eyes". Although the hainan slope deer is not close to people by nature, the moment the deer turns back, the wet eyes are clear to the bottom. You can clearly perceive that such a look is not a confrontation between animals and humans. This group of island "indigenous people" who took root in Hainan as early as 10,000 years ago, the deer song is long, and it has been sung from ancient times to the present.
Coat color is "half a year throw"
Not as gorgeous as a sika deer, there is no obvious pattern on the hainan slope deer, but the sides of a brown belt on the back are neatly dotted with two rows of copper coin-sized spots, which complement its small body shape in the deer species, so the Hainan slope deer is particularly beautiful. From the back of the ridge to the abdomen to the toes, the deer is brownish yellow and white, and the color spreads from dark to light, hidden in the grass-colored green bushes, which looks very harmonious.
The long, thick winter fur is the "autumn and winter wear" of the po deer, and the light spots are almost invisible. In winter, the color difference between male and female is large, the female deer is grass yellow, yellow-brown, and the adult male deer is darker in color, gray brown, gray brown, brownish black. Every year around the Qingming Festival, the Hainan slope deer will gradually fade their winter clothes and replace them with summer clothes, and greet the arrival of the breeding period with the "summer feeling" of brown, brown, brown and red.
The slender neck, slender limbs, and "big long legs" give the Hainan po deer a healthy posture. Whether it is a long ravine or a tall bush, they can rise in the air, sweep through, and show off a beautiful "one-word horse" in the air, which is also known as the "flying deer" by the locals. Despite the smooth straight lines on the body, the big and round ears still betrayed the po deer, making this group of little guys cute.
The Hainan po deer has a "C" horn. Hainan Daily reporter Su Xiaojie photographed
Unusual "C" corners
On the green grass, a male deer has just emerged with cramped antlers, and when it is two years old, the antlers will slowly grow. The most characteristic of Hainan po deer is the elegant and spectacular double horns on the male's head, which is the embodiment of their "personable" and the best "decoration" to attract female deer.
The eyebrow fork is first stretched forward and then bent upwards, the trunk extends backwards and outwards, the horn tip is inward and bent forward at the same time, the shape of the entire horn is like the English letter "C" and parallel to the front, so the Hainan slope deer is also known as "eyebrow deer" and "eyebrow horn deer". "Horizontally into the ridge side into a peak", so memorable "C" antler length can reach more than one meter, is the main sign of the slope deer from other deer family.
As the fastest growing tissue of mammals, antlers are made of dermatization, and antlers are "flesh and blood" for a long time before ossification. The surface of the antlers is covered with a light pink film of furry, which is the antler skin on the base of the antlers, and the presence of deer antlers is to provide blood, oxygen and nutrients for the growth of antlers.
Under the protection of the fur, the apical cartilage will gradually ossify and harden until it is fully developed. Before the spring courtship period begins, the bucks will rub their antlers back and forth on the trunk or shrub to achieve the effect of grinding off the fur, and the hard horns that gradually emerge are the best "face value blessing" of the bucks' charm, which can make them "double their confidence" in the courtship battle.
Different from the "lifelong system" of bull horns and giraffe antlers, Hainan po deer have "annual throwing" horns. These horns complete the entire growth process each year within three to four months before the breeding season and fall off naturally after the mating period, due to the drop in testosterone levels after the breeding period, as is common as when we lose our hair. At this time, the bucks will choose to be alone and start a hidden life. At the end of each summer, new antlers begin to grow, and so on and so on.
Cluster life is more fun
Although the small shrubland is not as wide as the forest, when the sun shines on the ground, the entire Polu Nature Reserve is quiet and beautiful, and even makes people feel that they are in the African savannah. Hainan po deer prefer to live in groups, and a group includes various members of the male and female infants.
The sentry deer in the distance was looking up, standing guard for the deer, only to see its ears swinging constantly, like radar collecting information from all directions. Keen sight and hearing are innate talents of the po deer, and if the sentry deer perceives a "red flag", after a chirp, the deer will gallop away. Despite their agility and vigilance, Po Deer's curiosity is notoriously heavy, and when a living person approaches, their first reaction is not to run on their legs, but to stand upright collectively, blinking their big eyes, looking in the direction of the coming person, standing with their ears, and running away after confirming the danger.
In addition to common refuge, along with cluster life is the inevitable theme of "scrambling". Between the bucks, there will be a big fight for mating rights, the degree of fighting is fierce, from the scars on the body or broken hard horns, it is not difficult to see that these are glory medals that show the "majestic style". In one group, there is even the selection of the role of "Deer King", and the hierarchical order "goes deep into the heart of the deer".
In the savannah, whether it is the dry dry season or the wet rainy season, mosquitoes are as rampant as ever, and without a long tail to drive them away, the deer on the slope can only hide in the pond and use the mud to form protective clothing, leaving the mosquitoes with nowhere to put their mouths. Growing up, this mud bathing habit will be more common during the hardening of the horns of the bucks. The male deer rolls in the mud pond, for love, it will be wrapped in mud, so that the coat color deepens, making itself look stronger and stronger, which is the male's "beauty means". A strong fishy smell emanated from it, which may be a declaration of sovereignty through smell and vision.
Two poe deer frolicking. Hainan Daily reporter Su Xiaojie photographed
The tip of the tongue of the deer
In contrast to other deer species, hainan deer mate in spring and summer, and give birth in autumn and winter. Because the autumn and winter on Hainan Island is the rainy season, the grass and trees are prosperous, and the food is abundant, only the deer mothers are healthy, the deer babies can thrive, bringing new hope to the continuation of the slope deer population.
Don't look at the deer as "vegetarians", they are very particular about food. At first glance, the white grass with its fluffy fur looks like a combination of dog's tail grass and dandelion, growing white in the greenery. Tall, well-rooted elephant grasses and short, delicate, coarse protein-rich pillar flowers are also planted in Polu Nature Reserve. The common feature of this type of herb is that it is numerous and has a good taste, so that the young grass and young leaves can satisfy this group of "picky diners".
Not only is it hungry for delicious taste on the tip of the tongue, but the food of Po Deer should also pay attention to nutritional balance. On the ground of the reserve, you can often see stones with potholes on the surface, and this brittle soil block that looks like red stone is red salt soil. Made of a certain proportion of salt and laterite, it provides the minerals and salts needed for the deer, and the traces on it are left by the deer with a bite. In addition, the protein and trace elements rich in woody plants such as dark luo, betel nut green and sea tree are also necessary for the growth of the deer, and the daily meals are also fed by the rangers in the feeding tank and the leaves placed next to them.
Although it has passed the daytime foraging time, it can be observed from the electronic surveillance camera that at night, a fawn is still lying in the grass, chewing something in its mouth. This is related to the special digestive system of some herbivores, and the po deer are generally in a hurry, especially roughage, most of which are swallowed into the rumen without sufficient chewing. At rest, after a period of soaking and softening in the rumen, the food will return to the mouth of the deer for further chewing through reverse vomiting, which is "rumination".
From near extinction to revival, Hainan po deer have never stopped their running and jumping pace. In the land of Qiongdao, meet this group of "wilderness elves" and listen to the yo-yo deer chirping that has been heard through the ages.
Original title: The island's "indigenous people" Polu took root in Hainan 10,000 years ago