Lifespan
8-12 years
Quick facts
Diet
Leaves, shoots, buds, shrubs, fallen fruit & fungi
Habitat
Tropical rainforests
Range
Southeast Asia
The mousedeer
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Neither mouse nor deer
With a rodent-like face and a rabbit's body perched precariously atop the pencil-thin feet of a piglet, the mousedeer looks like an odd mix of different animals.
Delicate of build and shy by nature, this unique group of tiny hoofed mammals may lack the horns or antlers of other hoofed animals but they do sport fangs. Long and tusk-like, these enlarged upper canines are especially prominent in males, and used in slashing competititions to warn off rivals.
Sang Kanchil the cunning
In Southeast Asia, a quick-witted mousedeer character called Sang Kanchil, is the star of many trickster stories. These stories have been told and passed down for generations as part of Malaysian and Indonesian folklore. In these tales, the tiger and crocodile are two of the big and powerful creatures in the forest often outwitted by the wily mousedeer.
Singapore as a country has often been likened to Sang Kancil — making up for her small size with the nimbleness and cunning to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Loving our locals
Two species of mouse deer can be found in Singapore — the greater mousedeer and lesser mousedeer.
Lesser mousedeer
The lesser mousedeer is the world's smallest hoofed animal. Listed as critically endangered in Singapore, this shy creature is restricted to our nature reserves.
Greater mousedeer
Once thought to be extinct in Singapore, the greater mousedeer was resighted on Pulau Ubin after an absence of more than 80 years. Subsequent studies confirmed its surprising comeback.
