Chevrotain

Chevrotain
Character Data
Also known as: Lesser Malay chevrotain, lesser mouse-deer, kanchil Japanese Name: ヒメマメジカ Romanised Name: Himemamejika First Featured in: Kemono Friends Kingdom
Animal Data
Scientific Name: Tragulus kanchil Distribution: Southeast Asia Diet: Herbivore Average Lifespan in the Wild: 12 years Read More: Chevrotain Conservation Status:

Chevrotain​

KF3​

Kingdom​

Gallery

Chevrotain is a type of Friend that first appeared in the game Kemono Friends Kingdom.

Appearance

Chevrotain has a very sweet appearance; she has a dark brown, chin length bob cut with a singular long bang in the middle of her face, likely representing the real life animal's long nose. By her ears are two white tufts, hinting at the elongated canine teeth the males are known for. Her eyes are a very dark brown, almost black color.

The dress is a flowy t-shirt style garb that is a warm brown color with an off-white front. A bow ascot with the Japari Park logo adorns her neck. Her gloves, which are a light gray, stop right at her wrists. The shoes are the same color. Lastly, her bob tail pokes out from under her dress.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role

In Real Life

Chevrotain in a German zoo. Photo by J. Patrick Fischer, 2014.

The Chevrotain (Tragulus kanchil) is a small species of even-toed ungulate from the family Tragulidae. It has a wide habitat range, going across Southeast Asia (specifically Indochina, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Yunan (Southern China), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are 10 extant species, and six extinct species, of which they are only known from fossils.

All even-toed ungulates belong to the Artiodactyla family, which includes Tylopoda (Camels), Suina (Pigs), Pecora (horn-bearers), Hippopotamidae (Hippopotamuses), and Cetacea (whales).

The Tragulidae family was widespread throughout the Oligocene period (34 million years ago) and through the Miocene period (about 5 million years ago). They have remained virtually unchanged for millennia and are used as an example of primitive ruminant (plant eater) forms. While their primary food source is plants and tough plant material, the water chevrotain will occasionally eat insects, crabs, and fish. Mouse Deer have four-chambered stomachs to process the tougher plant foods. Like other ruminants, Chevrotains lack upper incisor teeth.

It is one of the smallest hooved mammals. Mature adults can be as little as 45 cm (18 inches) and 2 kg (4.4 lb). All species of Chevrotain lack antlers and horns, but both sexes have elongated canine teeth. These are especially prominent in males, where they stick out on either side of the lower jaw. These elongated teeth are used in fights. The legs are almost comically short and thin, which leaves the mouse deer lacking in agility but grants them a smaller profile to help with running through the dense foliage. Like their pig cousins, the Chevrotain has four toes on each foot, lacks facial scent glands, and have premolar teeth with sharp crowns.

A Chevrotain roaming almost freely about in the Singapore Zoo. Photo by [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Uspn Uspn (Bjørn Christian Tørrissen).

They are relatively solitary creatures, living alone or with as a pair. Females are able to reproduce at any time of the year and only bear a single offspring. The young is weaned around three (3) months of age. Sexual maturity is reach at around five (5) to ten (10) months, depending on the species. Parental care is rather limited and the babies are on their own sooner rather than later. Even though they lack proper scent glands, they do have a chin gland for marking each other as mates.

Some Chevrotain species show a remarkable affinity with water, often remaining submerged for prolonged periods to evade predators or other unwelcome intrusions. This has also lent support to the idea that whales evolved from water-loving creatures that looked like small deer.

Trivia

• Other names include "lesser mouse-deer", "lesser Malay chevrotain", and "kanchil"
• Mouse Deer are the only member of the Tragulidae family.
• The Java Mouse Deer (Tragulus javanicus) is even tinier than the Lesser Mouse Deer
• The word "chevrotain" comes from the Middle French word chevrot (kid or fawn), derived from chèvre (goat)
• While most live in forests, there is one species- the water Chevrotain- that is found in the rainforests of Central and West Africa.

References

Habitat Range of the Chevrotain. Graph via IUCN Red List

• Lesser Mouse Deer Wikipedia Page
• Chevrotain Wikipedia Page
• Timmins, R.; Duckworth, J.W. (2015). "Tragulus kanchil". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T136297A61978576. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136297A61978576.en
• Fukuta, K.; Kudo, H; Jalaludin, S. (1996). "Unique pits on the erythrocytes of the lesser mouse-deer, Tragulus javanicus". Journal of Anatomy. 189 (1): 211–213. PMC 1167845. PMID 8771414.
• Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
• Groves, C.; Meijaard, E. (2005). "Intraspecific variation in Moschiola, the Indian chevrotain". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement 12: 413–421.
• Nowak, R.M., ed. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-408355-2.
• Valerius Geist (1998). Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0496-0.
• Walker, M. (7 July 2009). "Aquatic deer and ancient whales". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
• Meijaard, E.; Umilaela; de Silva Wijeyeratne, G. (September 2010). "Aquatic escape behaviour in mouse-deer provides insight into tragulid evolution". Mammalian Biology. 75 (5): 471–473. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2009.05.007.