South Andean deer, Southern guemal, Chilean huemul, Güemul
The south Andean deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus ) is an endangered species of deer native to the mountains of Argentina and Chile. Along with the northern guemal or taruca, it is one of the two mid-sized deer in the Hippocamelus genus and ranges across the high mountainsides and cold valleys of the Andes. The distribution and habitat, behaviour, and diet of the deer have all been the subject of study. The viability of the small remaining population is an outstanding concern to researchers. The huemul is part of Chile's national coat of arms and is since 2006 a National Natural Monument.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Partial MigrantPartial migration is when within a migratory species or even within a single population, some individuals migrate while others do not.
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starts withThese deer are well-adapted to broken, difficult terrain they live in having a stocky build and short legs. Their coat is brown to greyish-brown in color with white undersides and a white marked throat; the long, curled hairs of the coat provide protection against cold and moisture. Huemuls have very large ears which sometimes are described as "donkey-like". Only males have antlers, which are shed each year toward the end of winter. Males also have a distinctive black "face mask", which curves into an elongated heart-shape surrounding a forehead and is brown in color.
Huemuls are found in Argentina and Chile. They range across the high mountainsides and cold valleys of the Andes. These deer live in open periglacial scrubland, low bluffs, and other rocky areas. They also inhabit upland forests and forest-border, steep mountain slopes, and open grasslands.
Huemuls are diurnal and congregate in mixed groups of around 2-5 animals. They have very good senses of hearing, vision, and smell. Huemuls are not territorial animals. During the winter they usually stay at low elevations an in the summer move to high elevations. In order to communicate with each other, these deer use different vocalizations that include grunts, snorts, and bleats between fawns. When feel threatened huemuls will snort and stamp their front legs.
Huemuls are herbivorous (folivorous) animals. They feed on leaves, tender shoots and sometimes grass.
There is little information about the mating system in Huemuls. They breed between February and May and most babies are born in November or December. Females give birth in isolated areas in order to keep a newborn fawn from predators. The gestation period lasts around 7 months after which only 1 fawn is born. The mother will nurse her young for 4-5 months and at around 6 months of age, the fawn will become reproductively mature.
Main threats to huemuls today include habitat fragmentation, poaching, competition with domestic livestock, and predation by domestic dogs. Land conversion for agricultural purposes, construction of pipelines, and logging reduced native lands of huemuls and brought humans in the region these deer inhabit. Harassment and predation by domestic dogs, diseases and parasites of domestic cattle and sheep, and competition from introduced species such as Red deer, all these factors influenced big declines of huemuls.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of huemuls is around 1,500 individuals with no more than 1,000 animals in Chile and 500 animals in Argentina. Currently, huemuls are classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...