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| Thai Wildlife > Rare or Extinct |
Fea's Barking Deer
Species: Muntiacus feai (Thomas and Doria, 1889)
Synonyms: Cervurus feae (Thomas and Doria, 1889); Muntiacus feae (Thomas and Doria, 1889)
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Common names: Fea's Barking Deer; Fea's Rib-faced Deer; Fea's Muntjac
The fea's barking deer is similar to other deers in size with short soft fur with a long white nose.
It has a large tear gland under the eyes. The glands have a high rim toward the front of the eyes. Males have a long set of fangs for protection.
The antlers are short with only two branches. The front branch is shorter . The base of the antlers are covered by thick black fur and the body coloring is brown with a dark yellowish tint.
The back of the body is much darker than the other parts similar to earthenware coloring. This is where the name "pot deer" comes from. The underside of the body is brown with white areas showing underneath. The tail has two distinct colors - dark black on top and white under . Running down the front of the hind legs are white stripes like pant stitch marks. The lower end of the legs are black down to the hooves. The face is dark brown in color. A long black stripe runs from the base of the horns down to the eyes like eyebrows.
It is about 88 centimeters in length with a tail about 23 centimeters and a body weight of 22 kilograms.
Habitat is in the Tanaosri mountains along the Thai-Burmese border and the south of Burrna. In Thailand they are found in the west from Tak, Ratchburi, and Surat Thani. They have not been found in the Malay peninsula.
The fea' s barking deer is found in thick forests in the mountains hence the name "forest deer".
They live alone in wide open spaces along water sources, feeding on grass, leaves, and fruits along the forest floor during the day.
Reasons for threatened extinction of the fea's barking deer is the relative good taste of the meat and that cannot adapt to other habitats other than thick forest in the high mountains. Since such habitats have been rapidly destroyed in the creation of dams, the fea's barking deer has faced extinction in many areas.
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