The Philippines’ biodiversity is truly amazing that it is haven to some of the world’s smallest faunas and floras as well as home to what many believe as the world’s rarest deer. Read on to learn more about this fascinating animal — the Philippine spotted deer.
The Philippine Spotted Deer (Rusa Alfredi) is a small deer about 60 to 80 cm tall at shoulder height and about 130 cm long with short tail, eight to 13 cm long. This species is found only in two Visayan islands (Negros and Panay) inhabiting forests areas, though at one time found in open grasslands.
/>This small deer is easily recognized by the many large distinguishing yellowish-beige spots spread across its underbody and sides. It has fine, soft fur with an overall dark brown coat; while its underbodies are much paler. The Philippine Spotted Deer has dark brown face and neck though its chin bears some white patches. A lighter colored fur ringed the eyes while the inside surface of the ears are white. Males are larger than females where and grow short, stout antlers about 4.5 cm long.
Other than the fact that females have a gestation period of eight months, little is known about the deer”s life cycle in the wild. Though young animals have been sighted all-year round, studies showed that many are born in March, May, and June. In captivity, the Philippine Spotted Deer can live up to 20 years.
Oh are we not one blessed archipelago! I love learning something new again through your blog, Kuya! 🙂
Those are so cute, I never knew that there are deer dyan sa tin.
Since I saw a picture of a deer, nagtataka lang ako bakit yung mga heads nila eh ginagamit as decors sa mga old houses? Weird. Hehe
I can't help but think about Bambi, that cartoon movie that I used to watch when I was small. I think Bambi was a spotted deer like the one featured in your article.
Thank you for your informative posts KUya, I get to discover things that I don't know about like this one.
We should be thankful that such wonders of nature can be found in our country.
I would certainly want to have a chance to see one with my own eyes. After all, it is not asking too much since they can be found in our country.
what a great information! I didn't know that deer exist in the Philippines.
Lainy, come here in WV and you will see tons, they even come in your backyard lol.
I have yet to see one in person…looking at them virtually..I sound like a broken record but yes they make me admire the Creator once again…thanks for another amazing animal added to my list…:)
it is sad that species like this turned out to be rare.
I rarely see an article about deer and I didn't even know that we have a deer here in the Philippines!
This animal is an endangered species. And it could only found in one place, Negros. There are three of this kind in Negros Zoo in capitol, Bacolod. Why we couldn't raise this animal? It is just because it is hunted by people for food.
It's nice to know that Philippines holds a distinction of being home of rare species because of the rich biodiversity in the country.
Whoa I didn't know that the deer can live only up to 20 years… I wonder how they are aging.
Wow! another addition to my knowledge 😀 Never thought we have a deer in our country. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I haven't seen deer for almost a year now since we moved to Texas. Back in Oklahoma, deer can be seen all over the place running around.
awww!!! beautiful indeed. I grew up in a place in Batangas which quarter of the town is haciendas of the Ayalas (actually almost 75% before and they just gave away the lands to other people). Their place used to be open to public and we can visit the gated haciendas with just smiles and wave of a hand. Until now, chancing upon herds of sheep, horses and deers is so common as the pastures are fenced only with chained links. it's like we grew up seeing these animals not only on books or TVs and I just realized I am blessed to get close to nature. 🙂
My bf's dad says that he used to see deer in their mountains when he was young, and that their number is really diminishing.
I always learn about new animals that I have yet to hear or read about from your blog posts, Another informative post from you!
I had seen a lot of different species of deer when I visit Melaka Zoo and none I saw close to this rare Philippine spotted deer. I would love to see it up close.
i dont even know that we have deer in philippines! its a good news for me though it looks more exciting back in philippines now another animals to add in my lists that we have in PH!
I would be delighted to see them in flesh and I hope that they'll be protected by our government!
I hope there will be more of them in Philippine forests in the future..
I honestly have never seen a deer in real life but they look tame and cute pala! 🙂 I wonder if merong deer sa ParadiZoo in Tagaytay.
I feel proud that this can be found in our country. I hope our government will exert all efforts to protect these kind of animals.
Sigh! I've visited this page before and I still find myself catching my breath with the beauty of that first shot. Our very own dear deers! Got to love God's creations! 🙂
I never knew we have deers in the Philippines. *toinks. I wish the Philippine government really do something about our environment.
Just another reminder to respect all creatures. We do have some rare species of animals, some of which have been victims of poaching. I hope that there are still some good people in government who would look after these national treasures.
hey, I saw bambi! hehehhe….joke! I've seen lots and differenty types of deers here in the US, but never seen one in pinas.
We're lucky to have these lovely animals! I hope our Government does everything to protect them from getting extinct.
ive been seeing this in matanglawin and born to be wild…were lucky to have this in our country sana lang hindi abusuhin…
oh really? can be found in negros and Panay only? hindi ko ata nabalitaan yan dito..hehehe.. ithought palawan sila.
Ngayon ko lang nalaman na may deer din pala sa Pinas. 🙂
Deers look so innocent and gentle animals.
Suddenly I am reminded of Bambi with a fur coat of safety orange and wheat spots. We don't often see deer in the Philippines even those plain brown ones.
Oh dear deers, I'd love to see healthy deers someday. I've seen deers in Zoos and I didn't quite enjoy the site of malnourished ones. They're just adorable. If they are endangered, people should stop hunting them.
The deer is so cute! It's weird how they have different horn sizes. These are endangered species.
Amazing! never seen a beautiful spotted deer like this. Great photos.
Aww, those deer look adorable! We have deer where we're from too, but they're bigger. It makes sense that they're smaller out there since the Philippines is made up of so many small islands.
ohh, i didn't know there's a spotted deer species in the Philippines! and they're actually the world's rarest deer! thanks for sharing, i've learnt something new today!
I wish we had deer where I live. Do they mostly live in the wild or are they quite tame when human approach them?
This is very interesting. We have a spotted deer in India and they are almost in every jungle in hundreds. Sad to know these beauties are now rare.
hey this post reminded me of the bambi cartoon from disney. =)
I wish I can see this in my lifetime. I saw some small deet in the Manila Zoo that look somewhat lhat like this, but I doubt if if it is indeed this one.
I am not sure of my comment went through. I wish I knew where we could find this in Negros. They look cute.
Fascinating and such beautiful photos. How is it different from the standard spotted deer?
Deers are one of my favorite animals, they have genuine grace and intelligence. I didn't know you had such a rare deer over there in the Philippines.
these are absolutely beautiful! i would like to see one in real life one day
Wow! I didn't know we have this specie of deer here in the Philippines. It's really fascinating! I just wish that there are still a lot of Philippine Spotted Deers in the country. We should really treasure the wide array of flora and fauna we have in the country.
I hope the people around the area would really protect these species. I hope they won't be blinded by money. Our country is really full of great things that we should be proud of.
i would love to see these animals when i visit visayas. hopefully soon. PH gas so many animals we're not aware that exist here. thanks for sharing