Philippine Mouse-deer
Encyclopedia
The Philippine Mouse-deer (Tragulus nigricans), also known as the Balabac Chevrotain or Pilandok (in Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...

), is a small, nocturnal ruminant
Ruminant
A ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, principally through bacterial actions, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again...

, which is endemic to Balabac and nearby smaller islands south-west of Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...

 in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. It has traditionally been considered a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of the Greater Mouse-deer
Greater Mouse-deer
The Greater mouse-deer, Greater Malay chevrotain or napu is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It is found in Sumatra, Borneo and smaller Malaysian and Indonesian islands, and in southern Myanmar, southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia...

 (T. napu). Contrary to its common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

, the Philippine Mouse-deer does not belong to the deer family Cervidae, but is a member of the chevrotain
Chevrotain
Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils...

 family.

Morphology

It has a black and brown coat with white stripes on the throat and chest. Though the Philippine Mouse-deer traditionally has been considered a subspecies of the Greater Mouse-deer, its measurements are intermediate between those of the Greater Mouse-deer and the Lesser Mouse-deer
Lesser Mouse-deer
The Lesser Mouse-deer or Kanchil , also known as the Lesser Malay Chevrotain, is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family...

 from the nearby island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. It has slender legs and an arched back that is covered by brown fur, with a white base. A dark line runs from each ear past the eye toward the nose.

The male of its species does not have any antlers like a true deer. They use their large, tusk-like canine teeth
Canine tooth
In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, fangs, or eye teeth, are relatively long, pointed teeth...

 on the upper jaw for self-defense or territorial
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...

 fights with other males.

Behavior

It is a solitary nocturnal animal, feeding on leaves, flowers and other vegetation in the dense forest undergrowth. During the day, it stays in the forest and avoids movement. It is thought by the natives of the Philippines that the Philippine mouse-deer has a mutual relationship with a species of python
Python
The Pythonidae, commonly known simply as pythons, from the Greek word python-πυθων, are a family of non-venomous snakes found in Africa, Asia and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world...

; according to them, when the Philippine mouse-deer is hunted by a natural predator or by humans with the aid of dogs, it will hide in a burrow and when the predator comes by the python will eat the predator.

In culture

The Philippine Mouse-deer is usually portrayed as a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...

 in Philippine folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

. In a Maranao
Maranao
Maranao is the term used for the people of Lanao, a predominantly Muslim region in the Philippines island of Mindanao. They are famous for their artwork, sophisticated weaving, wood and metal craft, and their epic literature...

 tale, the Philippine Mouse-deer tricks a prince into giving up his bag of gold and face a hive of angry bees.

Conservation

The Philippine Mouse-deer is threatened due to habitat loss, poaching and capture for the wild animal trade. It is fully protected in the Philippines, but enforcement of this protection is mostly ineffective.

In captivity

Outside the Philippines, the only in captivity are at the Wroclaw
Wroclaw
Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...

 Zoo in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.
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