The mouse-deer is the smallest hoofed mammal, and not a deer at all
The Java mouse-deer stands about 30 centimetres tall, making it the smallest living hoofed mammal. Despite the name, chevrotains are not close relatives of true deer. They have no antlers, males fight with long protruding canines, and some species slip underwater for long stretches to escape predators.
The family, Tragulidae, holds 10 living species in three genera, most in the forests of South and Southeast Asia, plus one, the water chevrotain, in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. The Asian species weigh just 1 to 4 kilograms, while the African one reaches 7 to 16. Only four species were recognised until splits in 2004 and 2005 raised the count. In November 2019 scientists photographed the silver-backed chevrotain in a Vietnamese forest, its first confirmed record since 1990.
Chevrotains are a blend of old and new designs. Like cattle and deer they ferment plants in a four-chambered stomach, though the third chamber is underdeveloped, and they lack upper incisors. Yet they keep pig-like traits: four toes on each foot, sharp-crowned premolars, and no facial scent glands. They also lack the network of blood vessels other even-toed hoofed mammals use to cool blood headed for the brain, which shuts them out of hot, dry habitats. Their family flourished from about 34 million years ago to about 5 million years ago, and some extinct relatives were several times larger.
Mostly solitary or paired, they hold small territories of 13 to 24 hectares and generally ignore their neighbours. Young are weaned at three months. The water chevrotain occasionally eats insects, crabs or carrion. Their habit of hiding underwater has been cited in support of the idea that whales descended from small, deer-like animals that loved water.
The name comes from Middle French chevrot, a kid or fawn. In Malay tradition, King Parameswara chose the site of Malacca after watching a mouse-deer kick his hunting dog into a river; two mouse-deer still appear on the state's coat of arms, and Sang Kancil is a famous trickster of Malay folk tales.
Source: Chevrotain
