Lost Species Rediscovered: Silver-Backed Serrow Deer Found After 30 Years
In the animal world, the serrow deer, also known as the kels deer, is the smallest hoofed animal, with a body shape slightly larger than a wild rabbit, weighing generally between 1.3-2 kilograms. It is mainly distributed in China's Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar, etc. The Vietnamese serrow deer is particularly considered to have disappeared 30 years ago, and is considered an extinct species, but recently, this mysterious little animal was discovered in southern Vietnam, which is the first time in nearly 30 years that the Vietnamese serrow deer has been found.
The silver-backed serrow deer is also known as the serrow deer, as this serrow deer has a layer of silvery sheen on its back. Like other serrow deer, it also has two small incisors, and feeds on the flowers and fruits of plants and other fallen wild fruits. However, its body shape is slightly larger than other serrow deer, with a weight similar to that of a normal domestic cat, generally not exceeding 9 jin.
The recent discovery of the silver-backed serrow deer is the first time in 30 years that the Vietnamese has discovered the species resuming activity. The last time the silver-backed serrow deer was discovered was in 1990 in central Vietnam, but unfortunately it was hunted and killed, and the specimens were donated to the scientific museum, and there has been no trace of the silver-backed serrow deer since then, so the last silver-backed serrow deer was once considered to have been killed by a hunter's gun.
Until recently, through the field investigation of the wildlife research group for nearly five months, a group of pictures were captured through camera traps and published in the scientific journal 'Nature Ecology and Evolution', which re-discovered this long-lost species. It is a mysterious half-deer, half-mouse small animal, which has not been seen in the wild for nearly 30 years, and has confirmed that it has not gone extinct.
Now, the serrow deer population is in a population crisis and is listed as an endangered species. The male serrow deer has more developed canine teeth that protrude outwards like fangs, which appear to be very destructive, but in fact, they have no attack power. They are used as weapons in the serrow deer's population fights to attract the favor of female serrow deer.
