Shrew deer (scientific name: Tragulus kanchil), alias small shrew deer, a total of 38 subspecies. Slightly larger than the hare, weighing 1.3 to 2.0 kg, 420 to 630 mm long, and about 200 mm shoulder height, it is the smallest ungulate after the members of the ungulate rabbit order, and the smallest species in the family Shrew. The face is pointed and hornless, and the male has well-developed fangs, slender limbs, and shorter forelimbs. Both males and females have no horns on their heads, the first incisors are shovel-shaped, the second and third incisors and canine teeth are striped, and there are gaps between the shovel-like incisors. The male's canine teeth are more developed, exposed to form fangs, which are his main weapon in duels. Shrews are accustomed to nocturnal life and are mainly active at dusk. It feeds on the flowers and fruits of plants and other wild fruits. It mates mainly in June and July, and breeds in other months. It is mainly distributed in the Indochina Peninsula and the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra.
The ancestor of the living shrew deer is the (ancient) shrew deer, which appeared in the Late Eocene. The (ancient) moose is also likely to be the ancestor of ruminants, and some of its main features are similar to those of living moose, with a body size like a rabbit, no horns on the head, slender limbs, a curved back, but with a longer tail, relatively long feet, and the metacarpal and metatarsals are separated, all teeth are present, but the 3 upper incisors are smaller and are obviously tending to disappear.
The living shrew deer is the smallest of the ungulates, the small shrew deer is very small, roughly similar to a rabbit, the body length is 42-48 cm, the tail length is 5-7 cm, the shoulder height is less than 33 cm, the weight is only 125-210 grams, it looks like a deer cub without horns. It is not only the smallest weasel, but also the smallest ungulate animal in China. But because of its small size and large eyes, it looks more like a rodent. Both males and females have no horns on their heads, the first incisors are shovel-shaped, the second and third incisors and canine teeth are striped, and there are gaps between the shovel-like incisors. The male's canine teeth are more developed, exposed to form fangs, which are his main weapon in duels. The coat on the back, body side, leg side, etc. is tan, the ridge is slightly darker, there are light markings on it, the throat has white longitudinal stripes, and the chest and abdomen are white.
The high crown of the anterior molars has sharp incisions, a pointed and narrow snout, a cracked nostril, nostrils and pod glands, and long and thin feet with 4 toes per foot. Rumination, stomach divided into 3 chambers, 3rd chamber degeneration.
The shrew deer is a true forest-dwelling animal, and the Subspecies of Yunnan, China, lives in the jungle deep grasses of Mengla, Shangyong and Mengyuan in the southwest of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China. It is found in dense forested shrubs and grasses in tropical montane hills at low altitudes. Secondary forests, shrublands, grass slopes in tropical forests, especially in habitats such as river valley shrublands and deep grasses, sometimes also enter farmland.
The weasel is a nocturnal animal, but it is mainly active in the morning and dusk, hiding in the grass during the day, agile and alert, running like a rabbit, and also good at concealment, generally not far from the habitat. She is lonely in temperament, mostly alone, and occasionally lives in pairs. In the estrus period, male and female pairs meet to find food, and after mating, they run to each other. It mainly feeds on the flowers and fruits of figs, cannon flowers, thorn trees, Yunnan stone zi and other plants and other grounded wild fruits, and also eats young leaves and grass roots such as grass, seedlings, soybean leaves, sweet potatoes, cassava, etc. It is said that it is very afraid of water, and once forced into the water, it will lie down after coming out of the water and can only move after a long time.
Baby shrew deer can breed all year round, the female pregnancy period is 5-6 months, each litter gives birth to 1 litter, occasionally give birth to 2 litters, pups can stand and move shortly after birth, 5 months of age to reach sexual maturity. What is even more peculiar is that the female can conceive in heat after 48 hours of calfing, and can be pregnant while breastfeeding.
Natural reproduction
It mates mainly in June and July, and breeds in other months. The gestation period is 120 to 155 days. 1 to 2 litters are born per litter. The number is minimal.
After giving birth, the cub is in heat, and it can be pregnant while breastfeeding, with a gestation period of four months, so it can have children almost three times a year. However, due to its large number of natural enemies, the number of existing ones is sparse.
Artificial breeding
In April 2014, an artificially bred weasel was born at the Paignton Zoo in Spain.
Ornamental value
The weasel is small and cute and is a popular ornamental animal.
Scientific value
The shrew deer is a rare species between the camel family and the deer family, is the smallest ungulate animal on the earth, its shape is like the pocket version of the red deer, the size of the rabbit, because it maintains many of the original characteristics of the deer family, so it has a high scientific research value.
The weasel is also one of the oldest and most primitive species of existing ruminant ungulates and has important scientific research value.