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The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer. The canines are fairly large in the bucks, ranging in length from 5.5 cm (2.2 in) on average to as long as 8 cm (3.1 in). Does, in comparison, have tiny canines that are an average of 0.5 cm (0.2 in) in length. [32]
These tusks are used to compete with other males and attract females. Tusks that are longer and stronger create a more intimidating stance and become more attractive to females as the offspring of that male are likely to become healthier. Once the male and the female deer have procreated, the females will become pregnant for over 6 months.
Musk deer are generally shy and either nocturnal or crepuscular. Males leave their territories during the rutting season and compete for mates, using their tusks as weapons. In order to indicate their area, musk deer build latrines. These locations can be used to identify the musk deer's existence, number, and preferred habitat in the wild.
Males have short antlers, which can regrow, but they tend to fight for territory with their "tusks" (downward-pointing canine teeth). The presence of these "tusks" is otherwise unknown in native British wild deer and can be an identifying feature to differentiate a muntjac from an immature native deer. Water deer also have visible tusks [14 ...
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Fanged deer may refer to deer with downward-pointing canine teeth or tusks. Kashmir musk deer, a fanged deer in Afghanistan Musk deer in general, inhabiting South Asia, East Asia, and Siberia; Water chevrotain, a small nocturnal mouse-deer in western Africa; Water deer, a true deer native to China and Korea.
The ancestors of deer had tusks (long upper canine teeth). In most species, antlers appear to replace tusks. However, one modern species (the water deer) has tusks and no antlers and the muntjacs have small antlers and tusks. The musk deer, which are not true cervids, also bear tusks in place of antlers. [6]
On average, the Balabac mouse deer measures 40–50 cm from the head to the tail base and reaches an average of 18 cm tall at shoulder height. [6] The male of its species does not have any antlers like a true deer. They use their large, tusk-like canine teeth on the upper jaw for self-defense or territorial fights with other males.