Smallest Deer in the World, Mouse Deer, found only in India & Nepal

The smallest Deer in the World, Mouse Deer, found only in India & Nepal

Smallest Deer in World, Mouse Deer, Chevrotains, சருகுமான், சுட்டி மான்,

Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only from fossils.

Scientific name: Tragulidae
Family: Tragulidae; H. Milne-Edwards, 1864
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Tragulina
Phylum: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

Size
12 inches
Chevrotains are shy, solitary, evening- and night-active vegetarians. They stand about 30 cm (12 inches) tall at the shoulder and characteristically walk on the hoof tips of their slender legs.

Taxonomy
The extant species are found in forests in South and Southeast Asia, with a single species, the water chevrotain, in the rainforests of Central and West Africa.

Average height
12 in
With an average length of 45 cm (18 in) and an average height of 30 cm (12 in), the Java mouse-deer is the smallest extant (living) ungulate or hoofed mammal, as well as the smallest extant even-toed ungulate.

Pregnancy
Mouse deer can breed at any time of the year. The gestation period is usually 4 1/2 months. Breeding females produce one fawn (Jinaka, 1995). The young are precocial when born and can stand within 30 minutes of birth (Grzimck, 1994).

Is a mouse deer a deer or a mouse?
Image result for Mouse deer
October 21, 2012. A Mouse Deer has given birth to an itty-bitty baby at the Zurich Zoo. Less than 22 inches (55 centimeters) long as adults, Mouse Deer are one of the smallest hoofed animal species. They are not really deer at all, but belong to their own unique family of hoofed mammals.

Why are mouse deer endangered?
Image result for Mouse deer
The Mouse Deer are hunted and become as endangered condition. In destruction and shrinking of forest areas, it has been losing its numbers and survival. Because it is hunted easily by wild animal and man. It is also very sensitive type.

How long does a mouse deer live?
In captivity, deer mice can live as long as eight years. However, in the wild, life expectancy is much shorter, usually less than a year.

Smallest Deer in World, Mouse Deer, Chevrotains, சருகுமான், சுட்டி மான், small deer group,