It can be tough to get the information you need about animals. If you’ve ever wanted to know all there is to know about Bawean Deer Facts, then this guide is for you.
What is a Bawean Deer?
The Bawean deer (Rusa Andi) is an Asian deer found on the Bawean Island in Indonesia.
The most distinctive feature of this animal is the presence of a long, thin, proboscis sticking out from its nose.
The scientific name for the Bawean deer is Rusa and. Andi means “deer” in the Indonesian language.
What is Bawean Deer Size?
The average height of an adult male Bawean deer is around 120 cm with a weight of about 45 kgs which makes it much smaller than other types of deer found in Asia.
However, they can grow up to 200 cm at times and weigh as much as 300 kg.
Geographic Range
The Bawean Deer is typically found in lowland rainforests, peat swamp forests, and mangrove forests. They are known to be solitary animals with home ranges of 0.2-0.4 km² (50-100 acres).
Bawean Deer Habitat
Bawean deer habitat is located in the Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan. The area is a dry forest with a lot of trees and shrubs.
Physical Description
Bawean deer is a type of deer that has a brownish-reddish coat. They have long ears, long necks, and straight powerful legs.
They also have white spots on their body to make them easier to spot when they are in the wild or in danger from predators.
What do Bawean Deer eat?
The diet of Bawean Deer includes leaves from plants, fruits from plants, young shoots from plants, flowers from plants, and other parts of plants that they can find in the forest that they live in.
Reproduction -Breeding
Bawean deer have a gestation period of about 230 days. The Bawean deer mating season is from October until January. For the first year, the mother is full of milk and feeds her fawns by licking a gland located on the inside of her front legs.
Deer reproduce by pairing with each other in a process called “courtship”. The male deer will follow the female deer closely, approaching from behind and stopping when she stops.
Deer mate in a process called “copulation”. Males will sniff at the female’s genitals to establish that she is receptive to mating before mounting her from behind and inserting their penis into her vagina.
Copulation happens in brief periods, typically less than an hour per day during peak breeding season.
How long does a Bawean Deer live?
The Bawean deer can live up to 20 years, but most only live for about 10 years.
Bawean Deer Population
In the early 1900s, over 100,000 Bawean deer were living on the island. Today, numbers have dwindled to a mere 300-500 individuals.
Communication and Perception
Bawean deer communicate and perceive the world in several ways. Bawean deer communicate by sound and body language, they also use scent to sense their surroundings.
Bawean Deer use a form of vocal communication called ‘stotting’. They produce these vocalizations when they are startled or frightened by an animal or human nearby.
Anti-predator Adaptations
The Bawean deer’s most notable adaptation is its long, thick tail. This is used mainly for balance while it runs through the forest and swamps that it lives in.
It has a sharp sense of hearing that allows it to detect predators even while grazing on vegetation on the ground. The Bawean deer also has large eyes that allow it to see at night and an acute sense of smell that alerts it when a predator approaches.
Ecosystem Roles
The Bawean Deer plays an important role in rainforest ecosystems, as they are seed dispersers. They disperse seeds through their droppings and grazing habits, which helps to regenerate the forest understory vegetation.
They also help maintain soil fertility by providing nutrients via “grazing.
Conservation Status
The Bawean Deer is categorized as a “near threatened” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It is also categorized as Vulnerable by IUCN, with hunting pressure being one of the most important factors contributing to this vulnerability.
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Why are Bawean deer endangered?
The main threats to this subspecies are habitat loss, hunting by locals for bushmeat and traditional medicine, and disease transmission from domesticated pigs that live nearby.
Where are the Bawean deer located?
Bawean deer are found in the southern part of the island of Bawean, Indonesia.
How many Bawean deer are left?
A recent study found that there were 300-400 Bawean deer left in the wild, a drastic drop from a previous estimate of 400-600.
Where do Bawean Deer sleep?
Bawean deer sleep in trees or on the ground under trees during the day and come down to the forest floor at nighttime.
What plants do Bawean Deer avoid?
The deer of Bawean Island in Indonesia do not eat plants that are poisonous to them. They will not consume the leaves and roots of such plants.
They avoid plants that are toxic to them and only eat the parts of the plant that are least likely to make them sick.
Can Bawean Deer swim?
The Bawean deer live in mountainous areas in Indonesia and they eat leaves, shoots, roots, and fruits. They are not considered to be amphibians but they can swim very well.
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