Mammals · Artiodactyla · Tragulidae

Javan Chevrotain

Tragulus javanicus

Data Deficient

There is not enough information to assess its risk of extinction. See full glossary

The lesser mouse-deer, or kanchil, is the smallest ungulate in the world: it weighs some two kilos and its legs are the thickness of a pencil. It is not a deer but a chevrotain, the most primitive family of ruminants still surviving. It has no horns: the males show off elongated upper canines that protrude from the lip. It lives alone in the densest understorey of the forests of Java and other Sunda islands, and feeds on fallen fruit, shoots and fungi.

Weight

1.5 kg – 2.5 kg

Size

40 cm – 50 cm

Lifespan

14 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

RainforestFreshwaterIslandsHerbivore Nocturnal Solitary Rainforest Freshwater Islands Mammal

15countries 5parks1same family

Fun facts

GeneralOne of the smallest hoofed animals in the world at 2 kg, and the cunning hero of Malay folk tales.
It is the smallest ungulate in the world: an adult weighs the same as a small rabbit and its legs are as thin as pencils.
In Malay and Indonesian folklore, the sang kancil is the hero of dozens of folk tales: a little animal that always defeats tigers and crocodiles by cunning, the local equivalent of the European fox.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Dense understorey of primary and secondary rainforest of insular South-East Asia
Sexual maturity: 5.5 months
Gestation / incubation: 4.7 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragulus_javanicus