India-Kantschil
| India-Kantschil | ||||||||||||
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India Kantschil ( Moschiola indica ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Moschiola indica | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1843) |
The Indian Kantschil ( Moschiola indica ) is an even-toed ungulate from the genus of the Fleckenkantschile within the family of the stag piglets . It occurs in India between the Thar and Gujarat deserts in the west and West Bengal in the east and possibly also in the Nepalese lowlands .
features
The head-trunk length is 55 to 59 centimeters, the tail length 2.5 centimeters and the weight of the adult animals is about 3 kilograms. The Indian kantschil is thus a relatively large deer piglet with long hind legs, a broad skull and a relatively wide snout. The fur is dark brown, the pattern, which consists of stripes and spots, is white, while it is yellow in the case of the blotchy edges found in Sri Lanka . The upper row of spots forms a coherent strip on the shoulders and breaks down again into individual spots on the rear half of the trunk. The remaining strips are formed by elongated spots arranged one behind the other. The belly side is light beige and cream-colored in the middle. The dental formula is: .
Habitat and way of life
The India Kantschil inhabits wet and dry forests, mountain forests, thickets with elephant grass, hills, plains and plateaus up to heights of 1850 meters above sea level. The light-shy, twilight and nocturnal species can often be found near water. It lives solitary or in pairs and feeds on fruits and herbs. The fruits that the animals eat include those of the bahera tree ( Terminalia bellirica ) and those of Gmelina arborea and Garuga pinnata . Indian kantschile and axis deer together eat 95% of the fruit of the amla tree ( Phyllanthus emblica ). The animals spend the day in piles of leaves, where they are well camouflaged by their fur, in tree hollows at the base of the trunks or hidden between rocks. The Indian Kantschil mates in June and July and one or two pups are born after a gestation period of about five months after the end of the July to October southwest monsoons . Twins are more common than other Kantschil species. The average weight of the young at birth is 320 grams. The Indian kantschil is an important prey animal for leopards and red dogs, and small predators such as the South Indian red marten are known to prey on the animals. The Nepaluhu follows the young animals. Tigers and golden jackacals, on the other hand, rarely prey on the Indian Kantschil. The maximum age in human care is six years and nine months.
status
The Indian Kantschil is classified by the IUCN in the category “not endangered” (least concern). The species occurs in several protected areas. It was once widespread in India as far as the south of Nepal. Today the Western Ghats are the main distribution center of the species. In Nepal no Indian Kantschile have been seen for a long time and if individual specimens still exist there, the species is now highly endangered there. In India it is a popular game and is stalked by humans with the help of hunting dogs or with traps. In many places it is sold as bushmeat .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Erik Meijaard: Family Tragulidae (Chevrotains). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 444-779 (pp. 680-681)
- ↑ Moschiola indica in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2015 Posted by: Duckworth, JW & Timmins, R., 2014. Retrieved on 3 February of 2019.