Meet the Deer That Barks Like a Dog | The Meat-Eating "Barking Deer" ❤️

Meet the Rarest of Rare “Meat-Eating Deer”

Uncovering the Mysteries of the Barking Deer

#intothewildwithrufus

We spotted this lovely species of deer – the Barking Deer, also known as muntjacs, in the dense forests of Karnataka. They are among the most unusual deer species on the entire planet. That’s because they look and behave quite different from what we usually expect of a typical deer.

True to their name, these deer make a sharp, loud vocalisation that sounds incredibly similar to a dog’s bark. They usually emit this sound when they sense a predator (like a tiger or leopard), and they will sometimes bark repeatedly for over an hour to warn others or to let the predator know it has been spotted.

The male barking deer have very small antlers. However, they are equipped with long, tusk-like upper canine teeth and these “fangs” protrude below their upper lip and are used as slashing weapons during close-combat fights with other males!

Surprisingly, unlike the vast majority of deer which are strictly herbivores, barking deer are omnivores. Alongside their regular diet of shoots, grass, bark, and fruit, they are known to eat bird eggs, scavenge on carrion, and occasionally even hunt small mammals and birds, using their sharp hooves to catch them.

Muntjacs have highly distinct facial features. They have prominent, V-shaped scent glands on their foreheads and large pre-orbital glands just in front of their eyes. They use these to heavily scent-mark their territory.

Vivek Menon, in his insightful book titled, Indian Mammals, has given some fascinating insights into this rare species of deer.

Says he –

The more common of the two small Indian forest ruminants (the Mouse Deer being the other), the Barking Deer or Indian Muntjac has a glossy, reddish-brown coat and greyish or white underparts. Its forelimbs are longer than the hind limbs. Males have long upper canines that are not always visible. Males have well developed but small antlers that are mounted on long pedicles, and two black lines mark these down the face.

BEHAVIOUR: Although not territorial, males do have home ranges of 6–7 sq. km that they scent mark regularly.

DISTRIBUTION: Through most of peninsular India and the Terai, north–eastern India and the low Himalayas.

The barking deer is indeed a beautiful reminder that the wild is full of delightful and fascinating surprises, unsettling everything we thought we knew about the natural world! And yes! the meat-eating muntjac is testament to how wonderfully wild our forests truly are!