Hippocamelus
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 Chilean Huemul
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Hippocamelus bisulcus Molina, 1782 |
Hippocamelus is a genus of Cervidae, the deer family. It compromises two endangered species, commonly known as huemuls or güemals (with variants on last vowel). The huemuls have a stocky, thick, and short-legged body. These mammals live at high altitudes in the summer, then move down the mountains in the fall and spend the winter in sheltered forested valleys. Areas with fresh water are preferred. The huemuls are herbivores which feed primarily on herbaceous plants and shrubs as well as sedges, lichens, and grasses found between the rocks on high peaks.
The Chilean Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), also known as the South Andean Deer, is found in Chile and Argentina. Huemules live in small groups of two to three animals; these groups are made up of a female and her young. Many animals live solitary lives.
The Peruvian Guemal (Hippocamelus antisensis), known locally as Taruca, is found in the highland cloud forests of Peru, as well as parts of Bolivia. They live in high altitudes, from 2,500 to 5,200 meters above sea level. Social habits include grazing in flexible groups of 3-14 animals consisting of one or two males and several females. [1] The Guemal is active during daytime and has a lifespan of about 10 years. The conservation status of the Peruvian guemal is not known as of 1996.
These deer are now protected in thirteen Chilean national parks and neighbouring parts of Argentina and Peru, particularly Nahuel Huapí National Park and Rio Abiseo National Park, and have been on the Endangered list since 1976. They are endangered primarily due to human impacts such as deforestation, habitat fragmentation by roads, introduction of non-native mammals such as farm animals, and poaching. They are in a classic "extinction spiral" marked by increasingly small, isolated populations and are now considered critically endangered.
The huemul is, along with the condor, the national animal of Chile.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Roe and Rees(1976) Preliminary Observations of the Taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis: Cervidae) in Southern Peru Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 57, No. 4., pp. 722-730.
[edit] External links
- ARKive - images and movies of the Chilean huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus)
- Animal Info - South Andean Deer
- Photo of Hippocamelus antisensis
- Several publications on huemul
- A most comprehensive site, recommended by SCIENCE 315, 2007
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