Marsh Deer

Description:

Largest deer species from South America reaching a length of 2 meters and a height of 1.2 meters at the rump. They possess very large ears lined with white hairs, reddish brown colored body and long dark legs. The hair turns darker during winter. There are also white marks on the hips and around the eyes. The legs are black below the tarsal as is the muzzle. The tail is of a paler reddish tone than the rest of the body on its upper part and black on the under part. It has a length of 10 to 15 cm in adults.

Habitat:

The Marsh Deer lives only in marsh areas, pantanal and chaco, usually with the water level reaching half a meter deep. They are swift swimmers. The marshes with their high vegetation density protect them from predators and provide them with food.

Notes:

Spotted this marsh deer from the safari vehicle as we drove to our camp in the Pantanal about 3 hours from Campo Grande.