Rusa timorensis

Geographic Range

Javan rusa are found on most of the islands of Southeast Asia. They occur from Malaysia in the west to New Zealand in the east.

• Biogeographic Regions
• oriental oriental
  • native native
• australian australian
  • native native

Habitat

Javan rusa are principly found in deciduous forests, plantations and grasslands in the islands of Southeast Asia. They prefer the edges of the forest.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest forest
• scrub forest scrub forest

Physical Description

Male Javan rusa are larger than females. Males usually weigh 152 kg, while females weigh about 74 kg. The males have a lyre-shaped, three-tined antlers, which weigh about 2.5 kg. Males and females have a rough grayish brown coat that is often coarse in appearance. Their ears are rounded and broad. The animals look short and stubby because they have relatively short legs.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger
• ornamentation ornamentation

Reproduction

Like other deer species, Javan rusa have a polygynous mating system, with males competing for access to receptive females.

• Mating System
• polygynous polygynous

The gestation period is 8 months. They give birth to 1 calf, rarely 2. Breeding occurs throughout the year but peaks during the months between of July and September.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous

Newly born calves stay with their mother. Weaning is from 6 to 8 months. These deer reach sexual maturity 18 to 24 months after birth.

• Parental Investment
• precocial precocial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

Javan rusa live between 15 to 20 years in the wild and in captivity. Rarely do they live for more than 20 years.

Behavior

Javan rusa are primarily nocturnal but they can browse and graze during the day. During the mating season, males decorate their antlers with grass and twigs to attract the females and intimidate competitors. Males are extremely vocal and aggressive towards one another. Males and females live separately most of the year, except during the mating season. Young calves stay with their mothers until they reach sexual maturity. They are gregarious, normally associating in herds.

• Key Behaviors
• cursorial
• terricolous
• nocturnal nocturnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• nomadic nomadic
• social social

Home Range

Home range sizes of Javan rusa are not known.

Communication and Perception

Javan rusa, like other deer species, use chemical and visual cues and sounds in communication around reproductive state.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Like most deer, Javan rusa eat primarily grass and leaves. They hardly drink any water because they get their fluid from the grass and the leaves.

• Primary Diet
• herbivore herbivore
  • folivore folivore

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• wood, bark, or stems

Predation

Although the Javan deer sometimes graze during the day, they are mostly nocturnal to avoid diurnal predators. Their primary predators are crocodiles, pythons, and Komodo dragons.

Ecosystem Roles

Javan rusa help disperse seeds in the forest.

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Javan rusas shed their antlers between the months of October and February. These are collected and used primarily in Asian medicine. Also, the antlers can be used as jewelry. In Queensland, Australia, 50% of the deer farmed are Javan rusa. While economic by-products such as hides offer some income to rusa farmers in Australia, the major commercial activity from rusa deer farming is deer meat (venison) production. Venison is considered a lean and nutritious red meat.

• Positive Impacts
• food food
• body parts are source of valuable material
• source of medicine or drug source of medicine or drug

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Javan rusa have a direct impact on farming through competition with domestic stocks. The competition for pasture, between the deer and domestic animals use for farming, seems to be a very important issue in Indonesia. Also, Javan rusa eat crops and sometimes spread weeds that are harmful to farming.

• Negative Impacts
• crop pest

Conservation Status

Javan rusa are not considered endangered currently.

Other Comments

Javan rusa are the largest Rusa species. They were previously known by the scientific name Cervus timorensis .

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Eduardo Reyes (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Bret Weinstein (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

Cranbrook, E. 1991. Mammals of South-east Asia . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Huffman, B. 1999. "Sunda Sambar, Rusa Deer" (On-line). Accessed November 18, 2001 at http://www.ultimateungulate.com/rusadeer.html .

Kitchener, D., L. Charlton. 1990. Wild Mammals of Lombok Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum , 33: 105-106.

Putman, R. 1988. The Natural History of Deer . Ithaca, NY: Comstock Publishing Associates.

Sinclair, S. 1998. "Deer Farming in Queensland Rusa Deer Management" (On-line). Accessed November 18, 2001 at http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/animals/5482.html .

Whitehead, K. 1993. The Whitehead Encyclopedia of Deer . Stillwater,MN: Voyager Press Inc..

Wodzicki, K. 1950. Introduced Mammals of New Zealand . Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.