Anhui Musk Deer

Anhui musk deer is also known as Anhui musk deer in English. Since the Anhui musk deer was discovered in the 1980s, its biological classification has not been determined. Some people believe that Anhui musk deer is a subspecies of the original musk deer, while others believe that Anhui musk deer is a subspecies of the forest musk deer. It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that scholars determined that the musk deer in Dabie Mountains is an independent species after research.

Anhui Musk DeerThe activity area changes with the alternation of seasons. In spring, it lives in the bushes on the sunny slopes of low mountains, in summer, on the cliffs of high mountains, and in winter, in the warm woods on the sunny slopes. It does not like to gather in groups and loves home. They live in a very regular way, active at dawn and dusk, and males and females live separately, with relatively fixed activity routes and habitats. Male musk deer mostly live in steep mountain areas, while female musk deer and their young mostly rest in hidden dense forests in dry and warm places, mainly eating lichens, litmus, parasitic oaks and shrub branches and leaves. They are solitary and mostly active alone. They only gather in groups during the mating season, and they are mostly active in the early morning and evening.

The rate of twin births in Anhui musk deer is higher than that of single births. Females mature very early and can reproduce at the age of 1. There is a scent sac between the navel and genitals of male musk deer that can secrete and store musk. When male musk deer grow to a certain age, they begin to have a physiological reaction of secreting musk, which is particularly obvious during the mating season. Musk is initially a white, thin paste with a fishy smell. Then, the secretion gradually darkens in color, the water content gradually decreases, and finally dries up into brown, brown or dark brown thick muddy, blocky mature musk. When secreting musk, the musk deer are excited, have a decreased or no appetite, are irritable, and love to bite and fight. The secretion reaction is a normal physiological reaction, which generally occurs from May to July each year.

Wang Qishan and Xiang Ping once reported that historical records show that before the 1950s, musk resources in Anhui Province were very rich, with a large number and a wide distribution. The province could collect more than 60 kilograms of musk every year; in the mid-1950s, it was distributed in more than 20 districts in 6 counties in western Anhui and southwestern Anhui; by the end of the 1950s, musk resources in Anhui Province decreased year by year. By the mid-1960s, the distribution range was significantly reduced and the number dropped sharply. In the mid-1970s, musk resources were only distributed in 5 counties and 9 districts, and the total number of wild musk deer remained at around 500, which was at the lowest level in history. In the mid-1980s, due to the strengthening of protection policies, the number of Anhui musk deer increased, and the distribution area slightly expanded to 5 counties and 18 districts (see table), with an estimated number of 1,000-1,200. The 2003 musk deer resource survey showed that Jinzhai and Yuexi counties in the Dabie Mountain area of Anhui, Macheng and Luotian counties in Hubei, Shangcheng and Gushi counties in Henan were all distribution areas of Anhui musk deer in the Dabie Mountains. Together with the Tongbai Mountain area at the junction of Henan and Hubei, the estimated population is still 500-600.

The forests in the Dabie Mountains have experienced two major deforestation incidents, the Great Leap Forward in 1958 and the establishment of trade warehouses in the early 1980s. A large amount of forest was cut down, destroying the habitat of Anhui musk deer, and its habitat and food were greatly threatened. In the 1960s and 1970s, farmers in Jinzhai, Yuexi and other mountainous areas reclaimed large areas of land for food in order to survive, resulting in a continuous reduction in forest area, and the habitat area of Anhui musk deer also shrank accordingly. Especially in the 1960s and 1980s, a large number of Anhui musk deer were hunted for musk, regardless of gender, age or age. Human hunting was one of the main reasons for the reduction in numbers.

Listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2015 ver 3.1-Endangered (EN).

Listed in the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" (CITES)-Level II.

Listed in the "Red List of Chinese Species"-Endangered (EN).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 1.

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

It is only distributed in the Dabie Mountain area adjacent to Anhui, Henan and Hubei provinces in China. It is mainly distributed in the mountains between 115°20′-116°40′ east longitude and 30°35′-31°50′ north latitude.
It lives and moves in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 500-1500 meters. The vegetation in its habitat is mainly composed of plants such as Masson pine, Huangshan pine, fir, and millet. The traces of Anhui musk deer are occasionally seen in barren mountains and hilly areas below 500 meters above sea level.

The length of the head and body is 696-765 mm, the shoulder height is less than 500 mm, the hip height is less than 600 mm, the tail length is 18-32 mm, the hind foot length is 192-195 mm, the total skull length is 141-151 mm, and the weight is 7.1-9.7 kg. The tail is very short and often hidden under the hair. There are orange spots on the back of the body, which are obvious and dense on both sides of the waist and buttocks. The skull has a smaller malar width. The cheeks, forehead and the back of the ears are gray-black, the edge of the ear shell is dark brown, and the inside of the ear shell is white. The chin and throat are white, with white stripes extending to the cheeks. There are two white stripes along the sides of the lower neck and connected into a long ring on the chest. The center is grayish brown. There are two small white stripes on the side of the neck behind the cheeks. spot. Young animals aged 1-2 years have horizontal orange markings on their backs, with a total of 1