Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Muntjak

MUNTJAK, one of the native names, now generally

adopted in European languages, for a small group of Deer, the members of which are indigenous to the southern and eastern parts of Asia and the adjacent islands, and which are separated by very marked characters from all their allies. They are also called &ldquo;Kijang&rdquo; or &ldquo;Kidjang,&rdquo; and constitute the genus Cervulus of Blainville and most zoologists, Stylocerus of Hamilton Smith, and Prox of Ogilby. They are all of small size compared with the majority of Deer, and have long bodies and rather short limbs and neck. The antlers, which as in most Deer are present in the male only, are small and simple, and the main stem or beam after giving off a very short brow-antler inclines backwards and upwards, is unbranched and pointed, and when fully developed curves inwards and somewhat downwards at the tip. These small antlers are supported upon pedicles or permanent processes of the frontal bones, longer than in any other Deer, and the front edges of which are continued downwards as strong ridges passing along the

sides of the face above the orbits, and serving to protect the large frontal cutaneous glands which lie on their inner sides. The lacrymal pit of the skull, in which is lodged the large anteorbital gland or crumen, is of great depth and extent. The upper canine teeth of the males are strongly developed and sharp, curving downwards, backwards, and outwards, projecting visibly outside the mouth as tusks, and loosely implanted in their sockets. In the females they are very much smaller. The limbs exhibit several structural peculiarities not found in other Deer. The lateral digits of both fore and hind feet are very little developed, the hoofs alone being present and their bony supports (found in all other Deer) wanting. In the tarsus the navicular, cuboid, and ectocuneiform bones are united.



Muntjak

The Muntjaks are solitary animals, very rarely even two being seen together. They are fond of hilly ground covered with forests, in the dense thickets of which they pass most of their time, only coming to the skirts of the woods at morning and evening to graze. They carry the head and neck low and the hind-quarters high, their action in running being peculiar and not very elegant, somewhat resembling the pace of a sheep, hence in southern India they bear the popular but erroneous name of &ldquo;jungle sheep.&rdquo; Though with no power of sustained speed or extensive leap, they are remarkable for flexibility of body and facility of creeping through tangled underwood. Another popular name with Indian sportsmen is &ldquo;barking deer,&rdquo; which is given on account of their alarm-cry, a kind of short shrill bark, like that of a fox but louder, which

may often be heard in the jungles they frequent both by day and by night. When attacked by dogs the males use their sharp canine teeth with great vigour, inflicting upon their opponents deep and even dangerous wounds.