Musk Deer

The Indian Musk Deer or Kasturi Mrigha with the scientific name Moschus spp.

is the only genus of the Moschidae family. It is primitive than cervids or true deer. Various Musk deer species are found in 13 countries in Asia and Russia. It falls under the family Moschidae and species Moschus spp. The quick classification of Indian Musk Deer is as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Moschidae
Genus	Moschus
Species	Moschus spp

Physical Structure

Indian Musk deer is a small sized deer covered with dark brown colored coat. The coat has short and soft hair with yellowish or white spots over the body. The hind limbs are muscular and long and the forelimbs are weak and thin. The rear side is small and arched which aids them to organize the jumps. Indian musk deer doesn't possess any antlers. They have a long upper canine which are visible even when the mouth is closed. The tail of the deer is hairless with a small tuft at the end. As the name suggests these species have a musk pouch located in between the umbilicus and sex organ which is absent in other deer species. This musk pouch is used to release a scent when a male wants to attract its mate.

The musk deer is 60 cm tall and the shoulder height is 20 cm. They weigh about 10 to 15 kg. The entire body length ranges between 90 and 100 cm. The lifespan is from 2.4 to 3.1 years. As the second winter approaches a winter coat with coarse hair and less spots is developed over the existing coat.

Behaviour

Musk deer are solitary animals or can be found in a

group consisting of less than three members. Usually the group comprises of the mother, and her young ones. They are territorial. One interesting aspect of this species is that they usually defecate at the place where they spot it as the toilet.

Species of Musk deer

The various species of Musk deer known to exist around the world are given in the below table:

Species Name	Subspecies Name
Siberian Musk deer	Moshus moschiferus
Forest or Dwarf Musk deer	Moshus berezovskii
Himalaya Musk deer	Moshus chrysogaster
Black Musk deer	Moshus fuscus
Kashmir Musk Deer	Moschus cupreus
White-bellied Musk Deer	Moschus leucogaster
Anhui Musk Deer	Moschus anhuiensis

Indian Musk Deer prefer various habitats like,

• Forest - Temperate
• Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane
• Shrubland - Temperate
• Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude
• Grassland - Temperate
• Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

As winter season approaches they move to steep slopes which are occupied with coniferous trees.

During the summer time they stay close to valleys, streams and grass vegetation. They can live at an elevation of about 2400 to 4500 m.

Distribution and Habitat

Indian Musk Deer can be found in various places of the Indian Subcontinent majorly in the Northern part of India. The distribution of various species of musk deer is as below,

Species Name	Subspecies Name	Distributed Areas
Siberian Musk deer	Moshus moschiferus	China, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan , Mongolia, and Kazakhstan
Forest or Dwarf Musk deer	Moshus berezovskii	China and Vietnam
Himalaya Musk deer	Moshus chrysogaster	India, Western region of the Himalayas, right from Afghanistan and Pakistan to China and Nepal
Black Musk deer	Moshus fuscus	India, Eastern Himalayas in Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal
Kashmir Musk Deer	Moschus cupreus	India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
White-bellied Musk Deer	Moschus leucogaster	Northern parts of India such as Kashmir, Kumaon and Sikkim, Northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal
Anhui Musk Deer	Moschus anhuiensis	China

Places found:

The various places where Musk deer are found in India are,

• Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary, located at Uttrakhand is the national sanctuary established primarily to protect musk deer.It is also named as "Kedarnath Musk deer Sanctuary".
• Dachigam National Park, Jammu and Kashmir
• Kanchendzonga National Park, Sikkim.

Food habits:

Musk deer is herbivorous and mainly prefer eating plants.

They are the consumers of around 130 species of plants. They eat arboreal lichens, bushy lichens, few mosses, young shoots, coniferous needles, buds, leaves, aspens, barks, willow, maples, honey suckle bird cherry, buckwheat, geranium, grasses, forbs, oak leaves, gaultheria leaves, and spirea which are one of the main parts in their diet.

Mating behavior:

The mating season happens during the months of December to January and the mating period lasts for about two to four weeks. They acquire territories where they leave scent markings on ground using their musk pouch. They draw the sexual attraction of the female using the scent smell. They became sexually mature during the age of two years. The gestation period is for about 185 to 195 days and litters one offspring at a time in the midst of a dense growth. At rare occasion it delivers twins.

The new born stay with its mother till 2 years of age. The new born has a dark brown coat with spots and later during the winter season it develops a winter coat.

Population of Indian Musk Deer in India

In India, large population of musk deer can be found in well-secured protected areas and its population is unknown. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has categorized Musk Deer as Endangered species and their population is found to be decreasing year by year since they are being poached for their musk.

The major predators of Musk deer are lynx, yellow throated marten and wolverine. They are also been classified under the Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Threats to Indian Musk Deer

The major threat encountered by Musk deer is the poaching for their musk which is used for medicinal purposes.

The other threats faced are deforestation and habitat destruction. The habitat loss may include various factors like Residential & commercial development, Housing & urban areas, Agriculture & aquaculture, Annual & perennial non-timber crops, Agro-industry farming, Wood & pulp plantations, Agro-industry plantations, Energy production & mining, Mining & quarrying, Transportation & service corridors, Roads & railroads and Biological resource use. Other threats include hunting for their tusks and musk.

Interesting Facts

• They are addressed as "musk deer" because of the distinct musk pouch they possess.
• The tusk is used for various medicinal purposes in Unani and ayurvedic system of medicines.