MUNTJAC

Muntjac were introduced to Woburn Park from south-east Asia  in the early 20th century.  

Photo: Jo Moe

  Of course they escaped and have spread rapidly until they are now a species of concern.  They like to browse woodland shrubs and ground flora so that they have seriously wiped out a lot of rare oxlips in their stronghold in woods in East Anglia and may have contributed to the decline of nightingales who like dense woodland understoreys.

Oxlips confined now to Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire; photo: Woodland Trust

Muntjacs look rather hunched because their hind legs are longer than their forelegs.  I think this makes them look a bit shifty.  They are known as barking deer because they sound a bit like dogs.  They are also about the size of German shepherd dogs.  

Here is a recording of  Muntjac calls by Steve Wilson, found on the British Deer Society website.

Muntjac are gravy coloured with lighter underparts. The males  (bucks) have small antlers and 'tusks' and a dark v-shaped mark on their foreheads.  Females (does) have no antlers and a diamond-shaped head mark.  A muntjac doe can breed at 7 months and when she has given birth to her single fawn can mate again a few days later.  They breed all the year round. This means they are now the most common deer in Britain.

Some people think they are cute.  I think, "Eat More Venison".

Deer of all species have no natural predators and are eating our countryside away.