Hog Deer

The hog deer is a small but powerfully built deer with short legs, a raised rump and a short wedge-shaped face, adaptations suited to moving through dense cover. Its coarse coat is dark olive-brown, often showing pale spotting in summer. Males carry usually three-tined antlers, while females lack antlers. Adults weigh 36–50 kg and measure 125–135 cm in length (Animal Diversity Web).

Its native range extends from the northern Indian subcontinent through Myanmar to Thailand. It uses dense forest but also enters clearings, grassland and seasonally wet grassland as food availability changes. Rather than bounding with a high-legged deer gait, it tends to run low through cover, contributing to the name ‘hog deer’ (Animal Diversity Web). It is Nationally Vulnerable (Thailand Red Data 2025).