Northern Red Muntjac

The northern red muntjac is a small, reddish-brown deer with a rounded back and a short tail that flashes white underneath when raised. Males carry short antlers on elongated, hair-covered pedicles and possess projecting upper canine teeth. Large facial scent glands are used in marking and communication. Formerly included with the southern red muntjac under Muntiacus muntjak, northern populations are now commonly recognized as the separate species Muntiacus vaginalis. (Mammal Diversity Database; Wikipedia, general species account)

This adaptable deer occupies dense or open evergreen and deciduous forest, secondary growth, scrub, grassland and cultivated ground near woody cover. A field study in the Himalayan foothills found it to be primarily a browser, taking more tree material than shrubs in both summer and winter. Other documented foods include fallen fruits, buds, small seeds, twigs, seed pods, tender leaves and young grass. It is shy and generally solitary, with activity varying from daytime to nocturnal among locations. (Awan et al. 2021)