Muntiacus montanus

The scientific name of the Sumatran Muntjac is Muntiacus montanus, and its foreign name is Sumatran Muntjac. It is a solitary animal with timid and cautious habits. It mostly forages at night or in the early morning and dusk, and hides in the bushes to rest during the day. When frightened, it can make a very loud barking sound similar to a dog's barking. Its activity range is very fixed. When it is chased and escapes, no matter how far it runs, it will eventually return to its original activity area. It feeds on young branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and crops of plants. It has strong reproductive capacity and can mate all year round. The gestation period is about 210 days, and one cub is born per litter. It reaches sexual maturity at one year old. Suede is an important raw material for leather making.

The Sumatran muntjac was discovered in 1914, but has not been seen since 1930, until hunters trapped and released it in Kerinci Seblat National Park on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, in 2002. The Sumatran muntjac has been included on the 2008 IUCN Red List, but the list is data deficient, as taxonomic issues remain unresolved (it is sometimes considered a subspecies of the red muntjac). In addition, the species' distribution is uncertain and may be more widespread. It is possible that some previous sightings of the Sumatran muntjac were also reported in western Sumatra.

A mysterious creature depicted by a Dutch East India Company crew in the early 18th century: the Sumatran muntjac. The muntjac is a forest-dwelling deer found in Sumatra and Java. The caption on the image provides information about its size, color, and other characteristics.

Listed in the 2008 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Data Deficient (DD).

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