Musk Deer

The White-bellied ruminant|Moschus moschiferus|deer|cervid} or Himalayan cervid (Moschus leucogaster) may be a musk deer species occurring within the range of mountains of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN owing to development leading to a probable serious population decline.[1]During the day, white-bellied musk deer hide in dense cowl and square measure keep and closemouthed. At night, they emerge to feed in more open habitats, and preferably choose leaves of trees and shrubs with high macromolecule and low fibre contents. During the winter, they  climb small trees to feed upon leaves that will rather be out of reach.[7]

They are fairly inactive occupying alittle range of up to twenty two hectares. Male are ferociously territorial, only permitting females to enter their vary. Territories are marked by rigorously placed excretion sites and strong-smelling secretions, which square measure placed onto the encompassing plants.[6] Males fight each different over females throughout the union season, and use their long canines to fight and defende .  The males to attract the females and convey them out from hiding.

A female has one or 2 young at a time. The young musk deer live off their milk till they're concerning six months previous and able to eat regular foods on the market within the wild. At 16 to twenty four months previous, they become sexually mature.[6][7]
As the musk the deer produces is in demand for the manufacture of perfumes and medicines and it is highly valuable. Since the species is endangered and arduous to notice, its value on the life trade market is hyperbolic still additional. The hunting and trade of the white-bellied musk cervid is that the main threat to the species. Deer musk could sell for as abundant as $45,000/kg, making it one of the foremost valuable animal-derived product within the world.[9] Hunters catch and kill the deer exploitation snares. Only males turn out the musk, so this creates a drawback as a result of females and young square measure caught within the traps and killed.
Himalayan musk cervid will live for up to ten to fourteen years.[citation needed]