A deer with vampire-like fangs, last seen more than 60 years ago, has been spotted still roaming in northeast Afghanistan, researchers confirm.
The strange-looking creature known as the Kashmir musk deer had its last scientific sighting in Afghanistan in 1948, but a group of researchers reported in the journal Oryx on Oct. 22 having seen the animal five times in a range of land.
"We conducted transect surveys in central Nuristan and confirmed the presence of musk deer Moschus cupreus > 60 years after the last documented observation of the species in Afghanistan," wrote WCS deputy director of Asia programs Peter Zahler and colleagues. "We found that, in summer, musk deer inhabit remote alpine scrub on scattered rock outcrops and in upper fringes of closed coniferous forests at c. 3,000-3,500 m."
A solitary male was spotted in the same area at three different times. The team also sighted a female with a juvenile as well as another solitary female, which was possibly the same animal they had seen but without her young.
The Kashmir musk deer, which is one of seven similar species in Asia, is categorized as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List because of loss of its habitat and poaching. Wildlife traffickers, in particular, are after the animal's musk glands. The males have a musk gland that secretes a fluid used in traditional Chinese medicine, and this could fetch as much as $45,000 per kilo on the black market.
"Ounce for ounce, this fluid is more valuable than gold, and musk deer are consequently targeted by poachers with fastidious diligence," the WCS wrote in its blog.
Unlike most other species of deer, the male musk deer do not have antlers. Instead, they have fangs that protrude like tusks from the animal's mouth, making them look like the animal version of vampires.
"These creatures are diminutive -- an adult weighs little more than a cocker spaniel -- and with their large ears, perpetually stooped posture, and massive hind legs, they can look more like kangaroos than deer," the WCS described the animal.
The survey team reported that musk deer are difficult to spot as well as photographed. They also pointed out the need for targeted conservation of the animal and its habitat for it to survive.
"Musk deer are one of Afghanistan's living treasures," Zahler said. "This rare species, along with better known wildlife such as snow leopards, are the natural heritage of this struggling nation."
