Infographic

Barking Deer: Alarm Call, Habitat, Diet

All you need to know about this solitary reaper
Text by: Nisarg Prakash Design by: Diviya Mehra
Updated   May 20, 2026
Text by: Nisarg Prakash Design by: Diviya Mehra
Updated   May 20, 2026
10 min read
All you need to know about this solitary reaper

Why is the barking deer considered a primitive deer? 

Barking deer or the Indian muntjac have an abnormally low chromosome number (6 in females and 7 in males), the lowest among mammals. Its nearest kin has 46 chromosomes. This indicates that they descended from an early branch of deer (33 to 23 million years ago) and evolved with little or no divergence. 

What do barking deer look like? 

Barking deer are under 60 cm in height and about 3-4 feet in length. They can weight anything from 16 to 34 kg and can live up to 12 years in the wild. Males have small curving antlers that are shed every year meanwhile females do not have any antlers. They also have upper canines or "tusks" which are longer in males. 

What do barking deer eat? 

Barking deer eat leaves, flowers, herbs, fruits, grass, lichen and sometimes carrion. 

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