Philippine Sambar
Encyclopedia
The Philippine Deer also known as the Philippine Sambar, is a vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...

 species of deer found in forest and grassland on most larger islands 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...

, although its range is increasingly fragmented because of habitat loss and hunting. The Visayan Spotted Deer and Calamian Deer
Calamian Deer
The Calamian Deer, Hyelaphus calamianensis, also known as Calamian Hog Deer, is an endangered species of deer found only in the Calamian Group of Islands of Palawan province of the Philippines...

 are also native to this country, but have more restricted distributions.

The Philippine Deer was introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 by Spanish governor Mariano Tobias between 1770 and 1774 as a game species (William Edwin Safford
William Edwin Safford
William Edwin Safford was an American botanist, ethnologist, and educator employed by the U.S. Navy and federal government....

 1905). Although scarce in its native range in the Philippines, it is overpopulated in many areas of Guam, posing serious threats to plant communities by overgrazing
Overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...

.

It was also introduced to Rota
Rota (island)
Rota also known as the "peaceful island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam...

, Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

, and Pohnpei
Pohnpei
Not to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...

but those populations did not take hold like they did in Guam.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK