Muntjac deer
Muntiacus reevesi
Carw mwntjac
 Photo by Wildstock |
Status:
In Snowdonia we have only a couple of records, from the Dyfi forest and around Dolgellau. This species is secretive and likely to be under-recorded. It is also likely that their distribution is moving our way!
Muntjac are not protected by The Deer Act 1991 (as amended), and are not currently of conservation concern.
Muntjac deer are an introduced animal, originally from China, and thought to have escaped from Woburn Park in Bedfordshire. There were two muntjac species in Britain, the larger Indian muntjac and the smaller Reeves’ muntjac. The Indian muntjac escapees are considered to have been eradicated by 1925, whilst the Reeves’ muntjac are those described here. They are found spreading throughout the Midlands and to the east, and west into the Welsh borders.
They like thickets and bushes in woodlands, and places with plenty of cover and dense vegetation, including overgrown gardens. They are selective feeders, taking herbs, bramble, ivy, heather, bilberry and coppice shoots.