Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Differ sharply from other deer. Long well-muscled hind legs; shorter, weaker, thin forelimbs; chest usually small; back highly arched back, so that the animal is much higher at the sacrum than at the shoulders. This body structure correlates with the animal's usual pattern of movement, a series of well coordinated jumps generated from the hind legs. Males weigh slightly less than females. Neither sex has antlers. The male has fine and extremely sharp canines protruding directly downward from the mouth. In older males, canine tips extend considerably below the lower jaw.
Age-related changes in hair coat and colorings: new-borns have short, dark brown, soft hair, densely covered with yellowish or white spots. By the second winter, young molt into their winter coat, which consists of coarse hair typical of an adult. The spots become less defined or absent.
Range mass: 15 to 17 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Mostly, musk deer inhabit the middle altitudes of montane taiga (usually not found above 1600m). In the winter, they are attracted to relatively steep slopes covered with coniferous forests. Favorite habitats are sections with rock outcrops, which provide shelter from predators. In the summer, most of their time is spent in valleys of forest rivers, around streams, and near fields with good grassy vegatation (e.g., where coniferous taiga alternates with mixed deciduous forest). They avoid marshy forests.
Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Eastern Asia; Southern China, and Burma, to almost the northern forest boundries. Also found in the Himalayas.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
Over 130 plant species are consumed by musk deer. In the winter, arboreal lichens and some terrestrial bushy lichens make up about 70% of the contents of a musk deer's stomach (by weight). Musk deer also eat young shoots, coniferous needles, leaves, buds, and bark of mountain ash, aspens, maple, willow, bird cherry , and honeysuckle. In the summer, herbaceous plants are the main diet. These include buckwheat, geranium, some grasses, and spirea.
Musk deer are caught mainly for musk ("musk deer perfume"), present only in the males. Musk is secreted by a saccate gland located between the sex organs and the naval. In the past, musk was used in medicine in Europe and the East. The use of musk as a natural perfume base (used in preparing high quality scents) was discovered later. When this happened, the use of musk in perfume boomed. In Nepal in 1972, for example, an ounce of musk was worth more than an ounce of gold.
The musk deer has long been hunted for its prized "musk pouch." In 1855, around 81,200 sacs were exported from Russia to China through Kyakhta, and a few years later, Japan imported over 100,000 sacs in a single year. The musk deer population diminished greatly, and in 1927, only 5,089 sacs were collected. This lead to the classification of the animal as endangered by the USDI (1980). The musk deer also appears in Appendix 1 of CITES.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
The main predators of the musk deer (other than man), are the lynx, wolverine, and the yellow-throated marten. In one study, done in the mountains, musk deer remains were found in 43% of the feces of lynx.
Estrus occurs in December usually lasts for three to four weeks. The gestation period is 185-195 days and there is no latent stage of embryonic development. Females deliver one fawn or rarely two. Fawning occurs in secluded places such as beneath dense shrubs, under low branches of fir, or around fallen trees. Strangely, up to 1/3 of adult females remain barren every year. Fawns stay with their mothers for up to two years (two winters).
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average birth mass: 458.75 g.
Average gestation period: 162 days.
Average number of offspring: 1.5.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 473 days.
The Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is a musk deer found in the mountain forests of Northeast Asia. It is most common in the taiga of southern Siberia, but is also found in parts of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and the Korean peninsula.
Their small shape allows them to hide from predators through tiny openings in the rocky terrain and also allows them to run exceptionally fast from their predators. Although bearing fangs, Siberian musk deer are actually herbivores, with their main source of nutrients being lichens.[3]
Due to the severe amount of poaching for its musk gland, the deer population is continuing to decrease. It is expected that the population will be reduced to at least 30% over the next three generations. However, efforts from each of the cited countries are beginning to restore the musk deer's population.[1]
Siberia, North Mongolia, Russia, North China and Korea – M. m. moschiferus[1]
Russian Far East – M. m. turovi
Verkhoyansk Ridge – M. m. arcticus
Sakhalin – M. m. sachalinensis
Korea – M. m. parvipes
The earliest findings of the musk deer belong to the Upper and Middle Pleistocene and they all come from places in China and from the south of the Soviet Far East.
The musk deer evolving in the mountain forests of eastern Asia spread widely since the Pleistocene in the mountain regions of Central, South-East Asia and in the north it spread to the south of the Soviet Far East. The musk deer also inhabited Sakhalin Island before its separation from the continent during the Quaternary period.[4]
It takes approximately a year for the Siberian musk deer to reach maturity, with an average deer living 10–14 years.
During breeding season, male deer will grow tusks instead of antlers.[3] These tusks are used to compete with other males and attract females. Tusks that are longer and stronger create a more intimidating stance and become more attractive to females as the offspring of that male are likely to become healthier.
Once the male and the female deer have procreated, the females will become pregnant for over 6 months. Females can give birth to 1–3 offspring, usually between the months of May through June.[5]
Musk will mark their territory, warning trespassing deers not to cross the boundary. When marking their territories, musk deer gather fallen branches, tree trunks, as well as plant stems, and place them in a circle. While placing the various branches around the circle, the deer will often do an olfactory examination and turn the back of its body towards the marked territories. Another way the Siberian musk deer will mark its territory is by defecating in already marked territories or unclaimed territories.[6]
Most Siberian musk deer are generally nocturnal, inhabiting the mountainous taiga and found in shrub-covered slopes where foods are abundant. The rocky location provides crevices and crags for the musk deer to hide from many predators, such as lynx and wolverines.
Musk deer have a preference for easily digestible nutritious foods that are both rich in protein and low in fibre. During periods of winter, musk deer can survive in even poorer food quality ranging in foods that are low in proteins but are high in energy and can be easily digested.[7]
The majority of their diet consists mostly of lichens, pine needles, leaves, and tree barks. During the winter, 99% of the musk deer's diet is lichens. Siberian musk deer have a preference for easily digestible nutritious foods.
The species is largely nocturnal and migrates only over short distances. It prefers altitudes of more than 2,600 m (8,500 ft). Adults are small, weighing 7–17 kg (15–37 lb).
The Siberian musk deer is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. It is hunted for its musk gland, which fetches prices as high as $45,000 per kilogram. Only a few tens of grams can be extracted from an adult male. It is possible to remove the gland without killing the deer, but this is seldom done. In 2016, the Korean company Sooam Biotech was reported to be attempting to clone the Siberian musk deer to help conserve the species.[8]
The most striking characteristics of the Siberian musk deer are its tusks and kangaroo-like face. Males grow the teeth for display instead of antlers.[9][10]
A distinct subspecies roams the island of Sakhalin.
World population: 230,000 
Declining
Declining Declining Declining Declining Declining Declining Declining[11]
Siberian musk deer preputial gland secretions are constituted of free fatty acids and phenols (10%), waxes (38%) and steroids. Cholestanol, cholesterol, androsterone, Δ4-3α-hydroxy-17-ketoandrostene, 5β,3α-hydroxy-17-ketoandrostane, 5α,3β,17α-dihydroxyandrostane, 5β,3α,17β-dihydroxyandrostane and 5β,3α,17α-dihydroxyandrostane can be isolated from the steroid fraction. 3-Methylpentadecanone (muscone) was not identified among the secretion lipids.[12]
The decline of the Siberian musk deer's population began in China where the deer population was most abundant. Most notably in the Sichuan plains, the musk production accounted for 80% of the domestic trade in the 1950s.[5] New sightings of musk deer were later spotted in upper northeast Asia and Russia; these places where the deer were spotted soon opened their own musk markets. After the 1980s, the production begins to steadily decline due to hunting for their musk glands. The cycle of over-harvesting the deer's musk continued until the exploitation severely reduced the musk deer's population.
Another threat comes from the habitat loss by deforestation. For a long period, China cut more of its forest than they could replant. 200 million cm3[5] of China's forest resources were cut down in the past 25 years in order to harvest the timber stock in trade for commerce. Deforestation is a severe threat to the musk deer's long-term survival because the deer can only live in a few areas.
The Siberian musk deer is considered vulnerable, but is slowly declining to endangerment. In Russia, the Siberian musk deer is protected as Very Rare under part 7.1 of the Law of the Mongolian Animal Kingdom (2000) and also under the 1995 Mongolian Hunting Law.[1] The musk deer are also protected under the National Parks, which account for approximately 13% of the Siberian musk deer population.
At the international level, trading musk is controlled through CITES. All trades regarding musk are subject to strict regulation to avoid exploitation of the survival of the deer.[13]
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) The Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is a musk deer found in the mountain forests of Northeast Asia. It is most common in the taiga of southern Siberia, but is also found in parts of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and the Korean peninsula.
Their small shape allows them to hide from predators through tiny openings in the rocky terrain and also allows them to run exceptionally fast from their predators. Although bearing fangs, Siberian musk deer are actually herbivores, with their main source of nutrients being lichens.
Due to the severe amount of poaching for its musk gland, the deer population is continuing to decrease. It is expected that the population will be reduced to at least 30% over the next three generations. However, efforts from each of the cited countries are beginning to restore the musk deer's population.
