Southwest Yunnan is located on the southwestern border of China, connected to the burmese landscape. Here the mountains and forests are dense, and there are many rivers, which are rich in biological resources. There is a precious and rare animal with antlers on its head and a body shaped like a pig.
Yes, this guy, who looks like both a pig and a deer, is called a guinea pig deer, and is a very precious and rare deer. Once thought to be extinct, it was later seen on the border of Yunnan, which is really exciting.
In terms of numbers, guinea deer are even rarer than giant pandas. It prefers to live on both sides of rivers at an altitude of 500-800 meters, as well as in swampy wetlands with artemisia grass, and can be described as living by water, and rarely appears on forest land.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >01 guinea deer was once thought to be extinct, and a juvenile deer was later found on the border of Yunnan</h1>
Dolphin deer, is a member of the deer family of the genus, also known as pig deer, reed deer, as the name suggests, this rare animal looks like a pig, and is a bit silly.
At present, there are three different subspecies of the world's guinea deer: the South Asian subspecies of the guinea deer, the nominate subspecies of the guinea deer, and the Indochinese subspecies of the guinea deer. The indochina of guinea deer inhabits Yunnan, China, and is in an endangered state.
What is the survival status of the dolphin deer population? According to China Net, in the 1950s and 1960s, dolphin deer were found in Gengma County and Ximeng County in southwestern Yunnan, and the number is estimated to be more than 10. 3 years later, the researchers went to investigate, and only found 4, already rare guinea deer, and their survival was worrying.
In 1980, experts went to Yunnan again to investigate, and the results showed that the guinea deer in the Gengma area had become extinct, and the situation of the guinea deer in the Western Union was unclear, so the Red Book of Endangered Animals in China had declared the dolphin deer extinct in China at that time. The main reason is that the habitat of the guinea deer has been destroyed.
The disappearance of a rare species was really nerve-wracking, but later on the border of Yunnan, the traces of guinea deer were found again. Until 2007, in the Yongde Snow Mountain Nature Reserve in Yunnan, a female baby deer was found just a few days old.
Two years later, Li Xiaoping, director of the Yongde Daxueshan Conservation Area Research Institute, found a male adult dolphin deer during a field survey. It was a surprise that the population of the guinea deer had new hopes.
The distribution area of the guinea deer in China is very narrow, the population is very small, and it is listed as a national first-class protected animal. Dolphin deer are distributed abroad in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >02 has antlers on its head, but its body shape is like a pig, and it secretes aroma under the eye socket</h1>
Such a rare and precious guinea deer is rare to see, and everyone must be very curious about what it looks like. However, in the deer family, the appearance of the guinea deer is not very outstanding, but it is more special.
The guinea deer is a small deer, with a body length of 66-74 cm, a shoulder height of 60-70 cm, and a weight of 36-45 kg.
The deer is pale brown throughout, with light brown tips on the back and gray belly. In summer, it has white markings and irregular gray-white spots on both sides of its back. In winter, the hairs are light brown or yellowish.
As mentioned just now, the body of the guinea deer is like a pig, with a thick body, rounded hips, and relatively short legs, and the overall appearance is short and fat, without the swiftness of the deer, but there is a pig's attitude.
However, the head of the guinea deer still has the appearance of a deer. The female deer has no horns, and the male has a pair of horns on her head, and the shape of the horns is elongated and trigeminated, which adds a bit of aura to it.
The horns of male guinea deer fall off every year and can regenerate. Usually, the antlers of 1-2 years old dolphins are right horns, and as they age, the horns on their heads begin to fork, and the older they diverge, the more they fork.
Both ears are large, the eyes are pitch black, and there are suborbital glands under the eye sockets that secrete a liquid with a special fragrance. The deer will apply the liquid they secrete to the trunk of the tree, leaving its own flavor and marking the territory.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >03 always walks with his head down, looks very stupid and cute, and does not react as quickly as a sika deer</h1>
Guinea deer live in dense forests on both sides of the river, usually alone, occasionally gathering two or three in one place. Populations are so sparse that dolphin deer almost never move in groups.
During the day, the deer hide in dense forest shrubs, or in the high grass or reeds in the wetlands, using grass and trees to hide themselves, and do not come out to feed until the evening.
For the guinea deer, foraging is a simple and easy thing, it eats reed leaves, aquatic weeds, etc., to say that the most favorite thing to eat, that is, red deer grass.
Whether it is foraging or ordinary activities, the guinea deer has a habit of always walking with its head down, with its figure, it looks really silly and cute.
When there is any abnormal noise around, the guinea deer will not immediately run away, but will stand up straight, look around, and not react as quickly as the sika deer.
The guinea deer is neither tall like a moose, nor is it as responsive as a sika deer, and is good at running, so it is powerless to resist when facing predators. In the eyes of predators, the guinea deer is almost "fat to the mouth". Therefore, it is difficult for guinea deer in the wild to escape the predation of predators.
However, it is not tall, but it is more convenient for it to pass through the bushes. If it can find its natural enemies in time and escape in time, it will be able to avoid being arrested.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >04 young deer leave the mother deer in August and survive independently, with a lifespan of up to 20 years</h1>
Although the dolphin deer does not have a tall and powerful figure and does not have strong limbs, its ability to "give birth to a baby" is relatively strong.
It is possible to have estrus, mating, conception and reproduction all year round, unlike other deer with a fixed estrus period. Although the deer's strength value is relatively low, it will also use its slender three-pointed horn to fight with other male deer when competing for a mate.
After the female mates and conceives, after a 213-day gestation period, one litter is given to one litter, and occasionally one litter is born two times.
After the baby deer is born, it can be weaned for half a year and eat tender grass to fill the stomach. The 8-12-month-old fawn is about to leave its mother deer and start living independently.
How to find more tender grass food, how to live more safely, how to hide themselves and other skills are all things that fawns need to learn. If they can grow up safely, the guinea deer can live for 12-15 years and live up to 20 years.
Some people think it is strange, since the guinea deer can "give birth" all year round, the reproductive ability is not bad, it should be conducive to expanding the population, why is the number still so rare?
In fact, the factors that cause the deer to almost become extinct in China are manifold, and the destruction of habitats, poaching and poaching, and predators are all the reasons that affect its reproduction and development.
Snow Spirit Valley Animal Lab/Production
References: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Wildlife Conservation Association, Yunnan Yongde Daxueshan Nature Reserve, Zoology of China