Name:Moschiola kathygre
Alias:Moschiola kathygre
Outline:Ungulata
Family:Artiodactylus Tragopanidae Tragopanidae
length:43-51cm
Weight:3.1-3.8kg
Life:8-12years
IUCN:LC
The yellow-striped mouse deer (scientific name: Moschiola kathygre) has no subspecies. It mainly eats fruits that fall from trees, and other foods include young leaves, shrubs, and young branches.
The golden brown body and yellow stripes and markings of the yellow-striped chevrotain visually distinguish it from the other two species in the genus, the spotted chevrotain and the Indian spotted chevrotain, both of which have white spots on their matte gray-brown upper coat. The water deer is superficially similar to the yellow-striped chevrotain, with stripes and spots on its reddish-brown coat; the water deer is larger and easily distinguished by its African distribution.
In an extensive survey of Sri Lanka's wetlands in 2001, the yellow-striped chevrotain was the most common mammal, seen almost every night in many locations, but although it remains common, surveys in subsequent years through 2006 showed that the yellow-striped chevrotain population was declining in the survey area (K.A.I. Nekaris pers. comm. 2008). There have certainly been some dramatic declines locally: for example, the Talangama wetlands near Colombo may have lost more than half of their cover to housing development, and peri-urban species like the yellow-striped chevrotain have suffered heavy infestation by domestic dogs. Unlike small country dogs, Colombo's suburban residents are increasingly keeping large dogs, which make local efforts to protect wild mammals difficult. As wetland forests become increasingly fragmented, the proportion of animals in essentially small and spatially confined areas increases, making them vulnerable to such local pressures.
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2014 ver3.1 - Least Concern (LC).
Protect wildlife and eliminate bushmeat.
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