Muntiacus muntjak (Zimmermann, 1780)

Scientific Naming

The southern red muntjac, scientifically named Muntiacus muntjak (Zimmermann, 1780), has a short, very soft, thick, and dense coat; this coat grows even denser in cooler regions.

Coat Coloration

Its face is darker than other areas, its limbs range from dark to reddish brown, and overall coat color changes seasonally from darker brown to yellowish and grayish brown. The underside of its body is covered in white fur. Its ears have far less hair than the rest of the head, but match the head's overall color.

Male Antlers

Male southern red muntjacs have short antlers, roughly 10 cm (3.9 in) long, that grow out from long, hair-covered pedicels positioned above the eyes.

Female Cranial Features

Females have fur tufts and small bony knobs in place of antlers.

Male Canine Teeth

Males also have elongated upper canines that measure 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) long and curve slightly; these canines are used during conflicts between males and can inflict serious injury.

Body Measurements

The body length of adult southern red muntjacs ranges from 89 to 135 cm (35 to 53 in), their tails measure 13 to 23 cm (5.1 to 9.1 in) long, and their shoulder height ranges from 40 to 65 cm (16 to 26 in). Adults weigh between 13 and 35 kg (29 and 77 lb), and males are larger than females.

Preorbital Scent Glands

Unique among deer, southern red muntjacs have large, easily visible preorbital scent glands on their face, in front of the eyes, that they use to mark territories or attract females. Males have larger scent glands than females.

Geographic Range

The southern red muntjac, previously called the common muntjac, is found in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Borneo. It is also assumed to occur in peninsular Thailand and southwestern Myanmar, and is currently locally extinct in Singapore.

Habitat Preferences

This species is most commonly associated with low-density forest habitats, but can also survive in heavily degraded forest, and in forest areas adjacent to coffee, cassava, rubber, sugarcane, coconut, and teak plantations. It adapts well to areas changed by logging, and appears to benefit from the conversion of forest edges to agricultural land.

Sarawak Population Observations

In young acacia plantations (under 4 years old) in Bintulu Division, Sarawak, East Malaysia, southern red muntjacs (along with other muntjac species) are among the most frequently captured species in camera trap surveys. Their footprints are commonly found in newly planted areas and nearby remaining forest patches, and the muntjacs have been observed browsing on young acacia shoots.

Danum Valley Population Trends

In Danum Valley, Borneo, a region with very little hunting, the species' population density has been observed to increase after deforestation occurs.

Common Nickname Origin

The southern red muntjac is also nicknamed "barking deer" for the bark-like alarm call it makes when it detects danger.

Social Structure

Except during the rut (mating season) and for the first six months after a female gives birth, adult southern red muntjacs are solitary. Adult males in particular maintain large spaced-out ranges, and marking grass and bushes with secretions from their preorbital glands appears to play a role in gaining and holding territory.

Territorial Marking Behaviors

Males establish territories that they mark with scent by rubbing their preorbital glands (located on their face just below the eyes) on the ground and trees, scraping their hooves against the ground, and scraping tree bark with their lower incisors. These scent markings let other muntjacs know if a territory is already occupied.

Male-Male Conflict

Males frequently fight one another over territories, access to enough vegetation, and priority access to females for mating, using both their short antlers and their more dangerous canines. If a male is too weak to gain his own territory, he will most likely become prey for a predator.

Rut Behavior

During the rut, males temporarily ignore territorial boundaries, their ranges overlap, and they roam continuously to find receptive females.

Adult Predators

Predators of adult southern red muntjacs include tigers, leopards, clouded leopards, pythons, crocodiles, dholes, Asiatic black bears, fishing cats, Asian golden cats, and golden jackals.

Fawn Predators

Foxes, raptors, and wild boars hunt fawns.

Alarm Call Behavior

Southern red muntjacs are highly alert animals. When they are stressed or sense a predator nearby, they start producing their bark-like call. Originally, researchers thought barking functioned both as alarm communication and as communication between deer during the mating season.

Mating System

Southern red muntjacs are suspected to be polygamous.

Female Sexual Maturity

Females reach sexual maturity between their first and second year of life.

Reproductive Cycle

They are polyestrous, with each reproductive cycle lasting around 14 to 21 days, and estrus (the fertile period) lasting 2 days.

Gestation and Birth

Gestation lasts 6 to 7 months, and females usually give birth to a single offspring at a time, though twins sometimes occur. Females typically give birth in dense vegetation to hide themselves and their young from other animals and predators.

Juvenile Dispersal

Young muntjacs leave their mother after around 6 months to establish their own territory.

Harem Defense Behavior

Males often fight one another to control a harem of females.

Breeding Season Pattern

Unlike many other even-toed ungulates, southern red muntjacs show no evidence of a fixed species-wide breeding season.

Home Range Dynamics

Adults have relatively large home range overlap both between and within sexes, meaning strict territoriality does not occur, but some form of site-specific dominance does exist.