Hippocamelus bisulcus

Chilean Elk is one of two species of the genus Elk in the family Cervidae. The male head and body length is 140-175 cm, and the female head and body length is 140-157 cm; the shoulder height is 80-90 cm; the weight is 40-100 kg. They have a large black nose, small eyes, and white fur on the inside of large ears. They are short in stature; female Elk is smaller than males. The male has two forked antlers about 30 cm long on its head. The branches of the antlers are fused together to form a flat palm or leaf shape. Although the female does not have horns, there are slight protrusions in the corresponding parts; there is a pendant on the throat with long hair on it; the main hoof is large and oval, and the side hoof is slender and touches the ground; this deer species has a strange standing posture, with very short legs and bent hind limbs.
The hair on the whole body is black-brown in winter and gray-brown in summer, with dark brown mane on the nape of the neck. The coarse brown fur is

The Chilean Elk was once widespread in the southern Andes and Patagonia, but by the end of the 20th century it was confined to the more remote parts of the southern Andes, with only a few scattered distributions in southern Argentina and Chile.
It lives in the rugged terrain and steep slopes of the Andes, inhabiting open areas of forest and shrubs.

Chilean Huemul (scientific name: Hippocamelus bisulcus), also known as Patagonian Huemul, is an endangered animal, one of the two species of the genus Hippocamelus, with no subspecies.

Chilean red elk is a gregarious species. The number of elks in a gregarious group depends on the situation. It is usually 2-3, sometimes up to 11, but in the past it could exceed 100. In the 21st century, groups of more than 5 are rarely seen. The gregarious group is mainly composed of females and young deer, while males live alone. In some areas, the habitat range can reach hundreds of hectares. In summer, they live at high altitudes, and as winter approaches, they migrate vertically to lower altitudes, gradually moving down to forest valleys. This allows them to avoid exposure to the sun and deep snow and cold in different seasons.

The Chilean Elk is a herbivore, and like other animals in the Bovidae family, it has four stomach chambers and mainly eats herbs, mainly shrubs, sedges, lichens and new shoots on trees. It is shy and agile by nature, with a well-developed sense of hearing. It is usually a silent species, but it occasionally snores and makes snoring sounds.

During the mating season, male Chilean Elk can mate with any female that is in estrus, checking their urine to see if they are ready. At this time, the male approaches the female, uses body movements to show his attitude and please them, then lowers his head and dips his lower lip into the female's urine to test the pheromone that enters the oral organ. The female gives birth to a fawn after 200-220 days of pregnancy. When giving birth, she will leave the group and hide in the forest with the fawn for up to a month to avoid harm from carnivores and other members of the group until the fawn is able to hide on its own. The cub is weaned at about 5 months old.

The Elk has been endangered since 1976, mainly due to deforestation, habitat fragmentation, invasive species and hunting. Although the Elk is fully protected in Chile and Argentina, most of the population is outside protected areas. Even within protected areas, laws are rarely enforced. In response, urgent conservation measures have been taken, including raising awareness of the plight of the Chilean red elk, promoting the establishment of private protected areas, relocating livestock from national parks, and captive breeding. According to the Red List of Threatened Species of Wildlife published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), there are 21 native deer species living in the Americas. Among them, the species with the most serious conservation problems is the red elk, which is in danger of extinction. As of 2008, there are less than 2,000 left in the world.

In 1996, Chile passed Decree No. 19473, which prohibits the hunting, possession, private possession, capture, transportation and sale of red elk. A few years ago, the Chilean National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), which is mainly responsible for managing natural parks, also began to implement the National Conservation Action Plan for Red Elk. It is thanks to the implementation of this plan that red elk can be cared for and protected in Chile's 13 national parks. Likewise, in Argentina, six parks protect the elk. It is hoped that these measures will prevent the disappearance of this shy and flexible species. In 2010, Chile and Argentina signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of the elk. The establishment of this memorandum led to a "binational action plan" that focuses on three areas: strengthening the work of people living with the elk, strengthening the creation of priority actions, and strengthening the monitoring of common problems of the elk.

Since March 2013, the documentary "Elk, the Shadow of the Species" has been filmed. The documentary was co-produced by Angelito Cruz Diablo from Argentina and the Chilean non-governmental organization Aum n. Primatologist Jane Goodall also appears in the documentary. After a full year of filming, the documentary hopes to show the different biological cycles and periods of the elk, recording some moments and periods that have never been captured with a movie camera before, such as the estrus period and its pregnancy process.

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

Listed in the CITES Appendix I of the Washington Convention as a protected animal.

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