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Classification
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Axis
calamianensis
Calamian deer
Taxonomy
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photographs
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General Characteristics
Body Length: 105-115 cm / 3.5-3.8 ft.
Shoulder Height: 60-75 cm / 2-2.5 ft.
Tail Length: 20 cm / 8 in.
Weight: 36-50 kg / 79-110 lb.The short coat is a uniform tawny brown in colouration, with males generally darkening with age. The subtle markings include a light patch on the throat just below the jowl, a white muzzle delineated by a darker band, and the white inner ears and surrounding ear base. The short, bushy tail has a white undersurface. Compared to the other "hog deer", the Calamian deer has relatively long legs, which are darker than the rest of the body. Even so, this diminutive deer is rather squat looking. Males bear three-pronged antlers which are mounted on forehead pedicels.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: 180 days.
Young per Birth: 1, rarely 2.
Weaning: At about 6 months.
Sexual Maturity: At 8-12 months.
Life span: 12-20 years.
Ecology and Behavior
Calamian deer are mainly active from dusk until dawn, when they emerge from their resting places in the undergrowth to graze in clearings and fields. If threatened, Calamian deer will creep with their heads held low to the ground into nearby cover, a habit which they share with their close relatives the hog deer and Bawean deer. Remaining low to the ground and hiding in dense vegetation may be an adaptation to aerial and arboreal predators. The primary vocalization is a soft, high-pitched nasal call.Family group: Small herds.
Diet: Leaves.
Distribution
Deciduous forests and clearings on the islands of Culion (400 km2 / 145 miles2), Busuanga (900 km2 / 325 miles2), and a few other small islands in the Calamian chain of the Philippines.
Range Map (Redrawn from Oliver, 1996)
Conservation Status
The Calamian deer is classified as endangered by the IUCN (1996), with an estimated population of 900 animals.
Remarks
Axis (Latin) is said to be Pliny's name for the chital, though some records show it as "an unknown wild animal in India". -ensis (Latin) suffix meaning belonging to: this deer is found only in the Calamian ("cuh-LAY-mee-un") chain of the Philippine Islands.
Literature Cited
Geist, V. 1998. Three-pronged Old World deer. In Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology. By Valerius Geist. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1998. pp. 55-80.Kurt, F. 1990. Axis deer (Genus Axis). In Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Edited by S. P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 148-151.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1996. In search of the Calamian deer. ZOONOOZ 69(4): 10-15.
Whitehead, K. G. 1993. The Whitehead Encyclopedia of Deer. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, Inc.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder [editors]. 1993. Mammal Species of the World (Second Edition). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Available online at http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/
Additional Resources
Alviola, P. L. III. 1998. Land vertebrates of Calauit Island, Palawan, Philippines. Asia Life Sciences; 7(2): 157-170.de Guia, A. P. O. 1999. Distribution of non-volant mammals of nine small islands of the Calamianes Island Group, Northern Palawan, Philippines. Asia Life Sciences; 8(2): 121-128.
DSG. 1991. IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group Newsletter No. 9.
Eduardo, S. L., I. Neri, and M. V. A. Bravo. 1991. Notes on parasites of captive Calamian deer, Cervus (Axis) calamianensis (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia). Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine; 28(2): 61-64
Geist, V. 1998. Three-pronged Old World deer. In Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology. By Valerius Geist. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1998. pp. 55-80.
Grimwood, I. 1976. Hunting a deer to extinction. Oryx 13(3): 294–296.
Grubb, C., and C. P. Groves. 1983. Notes on the taxonomy of the deer (Mammalia: Cervidae) of the Philippines. Zoologischer Anzeiger; 210 (1-2): 119-144.
Kurt, F. 1990. Axis deer (Genus Axis). In Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Edited by S. P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 142-143, 148.
Maala, C. P., R. R. Arca, C. Villamor, and M. Bravo. 1990. Comparative anatomy of the skull of the Calamian deer (Axis calamianensis). Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine; 27(2): 53-61.
Montulet, J-P. 1984. Les Cervides du Monde Entier. Paris: Editions, Lechevalier.
Nowak, R. M. [editor]. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World (Fifth Edition). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1992. Threatened endemic Artiodactyla of the Philippines: status and future priorities. International Zoo Yearbook; 32: 131–144.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1993. Conservation education posters featuring selected threatened species endemic to the Philippines. Project/Funding Proposal. Unpublished.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1996. Calamian Deer (Cervus calamianensis) conservation program. IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group Newsletter No. 13:14–15
Oliver, W.L.R. unpublished. The distribution of the Calamian deer Cervus (=Axis) calamianensis and the Palawan bearded pig Sus barbatus ahoenobarbus in the Calamian Islands. Unpublished report concerning a survey made in 1992.
Oliver, W.L.R., and C. Villamor. 1993. Calamian deer field survey and (proposed) conservation program. In: IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group Newsletter No.11.
Oliver, W. L. R., and R. Wirth. 1996. Conservation programmes for threatened endemic species in the Philippines. International Zoo News; 43(5): 337-348; No 270
Orig, A. P., and R. G. Rosell. 1994. Population estimates of exotic and native mammal species of Calauit Island. Wildlife Biology Laboratory, University of the Philippines at Los Banos. Unpublished. 59 pp.
Shave, J. 1980. Calamian Deer. Help Newsletter; No. 3: 14-15,
Villamor, C. I. 1991. Antler development in Calamian deer (Cervus porcinus calamianensis). Sylvatrop; 1(1): 53-61.
Villamor, C. I. 1992. Deer captive breeding practices at a glance. Canopy International; 17(3): 10-12.
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