Common Barking Deer  

(Muntiacus muntjak)

Family: CERVIDAE

Males have distinctive antlers which are usually shed and regrown at regular intervals (probably annually). They are a form of bone and grow from permanent projections, pedicels, on the skull. In the Bornean Yellow Muntjac, Muntiacus atherodes, there is no obvious dividing point or burr between the pedicel and the antler, so it is possible that it never sheds its antlers, Muntjac, Muntiacus spp. walk with the head carried low, the back slightly arched and the hindquarters high, lifting the feet high off the ground at every step.

Rusa, Cervus spp, walk with the head held high and the back fairly straight. Adult males of both species of Muntjac have long canines which protrude beyond the lip and are loose in their sockets. A rattling noise, probably produced by these loose teeth, is sometimes heard from the Muntjac observed at close range.

Only two species of large deer (rusa) are known to have occured in Borneo, but there are no recent records of one, the Javan Rusa, Cervus timorensis. Many hunters in Sabah and Sarawak believe there are two or even three species of large deer in northern Borneo. However, all Bornean antlers seen by us belong to Sambar Deer, Cervus unicolor, and without firm evidence to the contrary, it seems likely that the different forms of deer reported by hunters represent not different species, but a range of variation within one species. Body size, coat colour and antler size can vary with age, diet condition and time of year.

Measurements: HB 98-111 cm (4 specimens). Height at shoulder over 50 cm. Antler length 73-130 (24 adult specimens). Pedicel length 69-149 (24 adult specimens).

Identification: Upperparts reddish brown, somewhat darker along the midline; underparts whitish, often with a grey tinge. Tail dark brown above, white below. Males with rough antlers, bearing a smaller spike near the base and curving sharply near the tip. Pedicel thick and straight, with a burr where the antler joins. Young normally with white spots. Adult males and females give short, loud barking calls, a distinctive sound of forested hill ranges (probably indistinguishable from those of the Bornean Yellow Muntjac, M. atherodes). Similar species: the Bornean Yellow Muntjac is paler, the males with slender pedicels and tiny smooth antlers; female ruse, Cervus spp., are larger, duller coloured and walk with a different posture; mousedeer, Tragulus spp., have no antlers and are much smaller.

Ecology and Habitat: Probably similar to the Bornean Yellow Muntjac. Available data suggests that the Red Muntjac predominates in extensive hill and mountain ranges.

Distribution: Recorded at over 1000 m at Usun Apau in Sarawak.