CHAPTER XV 



THE RED DEER, MOUSE DEER, AND HOG DEER 



THE little deer(Cervu!usmuntjac),known in India as the munt- 

 jac or jungle sheep, also rib-faced or barking deer, is always 

 spoken of in Ceylon as the " red deer." Red it is, and the 

 name has become so general in Ceylon that, again, I see no 

 reason to change it any more than in the case of the elk. 



Though very plentiful in Ceylon, at all elevations from 

 the low country to probably 4000 feet above the sea, they 

 can only be looked upon as special objects of pursuit where 

 they may be hunted with dogs, owing to the fact that they 

 are forest dwellers, and not gregarious, more than two 

 being seldom seen together. They are not often seen out 

 in the open, and therefore only occasionally met with by 

 the low-country sportsman, though frequently heard bark- 

 ing in the forests. 



A full-grown buck stands about 24 inches at the 

 shoulder, more or less, the female being slightly smaller. 

 A good buck will weigh between 40 and 50 Ibs. 



Colour is a lovely red-chestnut, darker along the back, 

 becoming lighter on the under parts, finally merging into 

 white on the chin, throat, belly, inside of the thighs, and 

 under side of tail. The face is brownish. The bucks carry 

 small horns set on very long pedicles. These pedicles 

 continue down the frontlet of the buck in the shape of 

 bony ridges, at a converging angle, almost meeting at the 

 point where they taper out just above the nose. These 

 ridges account for the name " rib-faced " deer. The horns 



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