Deers has become a popular animal due to their unique and endearing features. They are also known by their ease to domesticate, as they make good backyard pets. World wide, they are recognised for their special horns that has become a distinctive feature of theirs that differentiates them from the rest.
Despite being recognised for several specific distinctions, deers are actually varied in personality and subspecies. Overall, there list about 34 deer subspecies that is from either the Muntiacinae or Cervinae family. As science developed lies newly established subspecies of deers that are grouped to two families: Hydropotinae and Odocoilinae. These new subspecies are distinguished to evolutionary physical changes: which consists of the number of nails and toes in their feet. Similarly, evolution is also involved with the lack of horns in female deers and their sharp hearing that goes beyond any frequency humans could capture.
Another interesting deer fact worth noting is that they have a 310 degree vision – which is caused by their facial placements. When observed closely, you could point out that a pair of deer eyes are actually located on the side of their skulls. More so, deers have an impressive default speed of running: reaching up to 35 miles an hour. This impressive speed is especially helpful to run away from predators that may hunt them unsuspectingly.
However, this might trigger a rhetorical question that may go as follows: if there are multiple subspecies of dears, is it possible that all of these traits exist to all said subspecies? In this article, we will explore this hypothesis further by discussing the different types of deers. So, without further ado, here are 4 most famous types of deers.
1. Sambar Deers
Sambar deers are deers especially common and concentrated around Indonesia’s lands. Some may even argue that population wise, Sambar deers are the largest in the nation. These deer’s natural habitat are located mostly around the outskirts areas of Sumatera and Kalimantan.
Comparatively, these deers are easy to spot out from the rest. They have a distinct exterior which is shaded brown, with a tint of gray and redness. The shade of their exteriors may vary according to their individual genetics – but Sambar deers by default are shaded those colours.
Another distinctive feature of Sambar deers are their physique. Sambar deers, when provided the right nutritional diet and vitamins, could grow up to 100-160 cm in height, and around 150 cm in length. This, again, varies according to each deer’s circumstances – understandably, deers that receive the proper nutrition and vitamins would grow larger than their less healthier counterparts.
One last interesting fact that Sambar deers have is that unlike their other deer cousins, female Sambar deers are those who have horns as part of their anatomy. Usually, it is the other way around: male deers have the horns – but this is not the case for Sambar deers. A female Sambar deer’s horns will not have fully developed until they are at least 14 months of age (though the speed may vary according to each individual deer).
2. Bawean Deers
Another famous deer subspecies found in Indonesia would be the Bawean deers. As their name clames, a Bawean deer’s natural habitat is heavily concentrated around the Bawean island – which is located around 150km away from the city of Surabaya. However, if you’re interested in seeing these deers in real life, there are numerous non-profit sanctuary organisations that help raise these deers and allow partial visitations from guests.
One thing about Bawean deers is that they are comparatively smaller in size than the rest of their deer cousins. However, with a small compact body like theirs, they have the benefit to be faster and much more agile than their larger counterparts – though this may vary for individual deers. Another distinctive feature of Bawean deers is the presence of spots in their exteriors – which creates a unique pattern that is easily distinguishable from afar. However, as how freckles do for humans, these spots tends to fade away by age.
Another feature Bawean deers have that is worth noting would be their three branched horns – which differs them from the rest of the deer subspecies. These horns will only have fully developed once these Bawean deers age up to atleast 8 months. However, these unique horns are not there for long – and would tend to break apart after a couple of months.
Bawean deers are also nocturnal animals – which means they hunt, work, and move around during the night. They live in the outskirts of wild forests and are shy around humans – so as guests, you should not greet them and catch them off guardedly.
3. Timor Deers
Timor Deers, or commonly also referred to as Javanese Deers, have natural habitats highly concentrated around the Java and Bali island. They have a brown shaded exterior, with a tint of red and grey. They are also well recognised for their beautiful white tails: that are often an object of praise for animal enthusiasts around.
An adult Timor deer can grow up to 200cm in length and weigh about 105kg overall. Their distinctive horns will have only fully developed once they reach the age of at least 8 months. A fully developed set of horns would be shaped similar to the Bawean deers – branched out into three.
4. Kijang Deers
Though there are significant differences between the kijang animal and deers, most of the Indonesian locals would like to mix the two from one another and establish this subspecies as one. Noticeably, this special subspecies of deers are larger and sturdier than the other deers – but have the same branched out horns as the rest.
A Kijang deer’s main diet is vegetarian and nut based. Their natural habitat varies from tropical forests, bushes, sabanas, and heavy deep forests. Unlike the other deer counterparts, Kijang deers are able to survive and live in elevated areas that reaches 3000 meters above sea level.
This marks the end of the list of most famous types of deers. Note that these are just four, and there are other interesting subspecies worth learning about. We hope this information could be of good use!