Mask deer

Musk deer 🦌 (often mistakenly called mask deer)

Here’s a clear, quick overview:

What is a musk deer?
• A small, shy deer species found mainly in the Himalayas (Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, Siberia).
• Famous for producing musk, a strong-smelling substance used in perfumes and traditional medicine.

Key features
• No antlers (unlike most deer)
• Long canine teeth in males (they look like little fangs!)
• Thick brown fur for cold mountain climates
• Size: about 60–100 cm long, 7–17 kg

Habitat
• Lives in high-altitude forests (2,500–5,000 m)
• Very solitary and mostly active at night

Musk
• Produced by adult males from a musk gland
• Extremely valuable → led to illegal hunting
• Today, synthetic musk is mostly used to protect the species

Conservation status
• Many species are Endangered or Vulnerable
• Protected in Nepal and other Himalayan countries

Nepal connection 🇳🇵
• Musk deer are found in Langtang, Sagarmatha, Manaslu, and other Himalayan regions
• It’s one of Nepal’s protected wildlife species

If you want, I can also explain:
• Difference between musk deer vs regular deer
• Why musk smells the way it does
• Cultural and medicinal beliefs around musk
Just say the word 🙂