The Tufted Deer Today
Today, the Tufted Deer lives in southern and central China and northeast Burma. They live in forests where around 100,000 deer are poached every year. Tufted Deer are herbivores and their diet is mostly grass, fruits, and bamboo. Elaphodus Cephalophus, the scientific name for Tufted Deer, is prey to leopards and dholes. The name "Tufted Deer" comes from the tuft of hair growing from their forehead. They have brown or gray fur that helps them blend into their environment. One unique thing about the Tufted Deer is that they have small fangs protruding from their mouth. Currently, the Tufted Deer's habitat in China is being diminished, decreasing the population.
The Tufted Deer in the Future:
The Three Steps of Speciation
Seperation
The Tufted deer in china are herbivores and eat the vegetation around them. The vegetation in China is decreasing, which means that their food is diminishing. The amount of poaching of the Tufted Deer in China is increasing every year. This could drive the Tufted Deer North to survive, and separate them from the Tufted Deer at the northern border of Burma.
Adaptation
Longer Antlers Increased Bone Density Longer and Stronger Fangs
When the Tufted Deer travel North to escape from poachers, the vegetation will still decrease. In order to survive, the Tufted Deer may change to a more carnivorous diet. In order to do so and survive, the Tufted Deer will have to develop longer antlers to fight, larger and stronger fangs to catch and fight animals, and an increased bone density to run faster by the process of natural selection. These adaptations will also allow the deer to escape from its predators, such as the leopard and dhole, and be less affected by certain poaching traps.
Division
These adaptations may also lead to more hostile behavior, restricting the future Tufted Deer from mating with the Tufted Deer residing in Burma, especially if they developed their own adaptations. Therefore, if these predictions occur, there will be a new species of the Tufted Deer, completing the process of speciation.
Works Cited
- Huffman, Brent. "Elaphodus Cephalophus." Ultimate Ungulate. Brent Huffman, 2004. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
- Lundigan, Barbara, and Rebecca Oas. "Elaphodus Cephalophus." Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan, 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
- "This Deer Actually Has Fangs - The Tufted Deer." Animal Facts For Kids Wild Facts. Wild Facts, 09 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Jan. 2016
- "Tufted Deer- Elphodus Cephalophus." Encyclopedia of Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.