Axis kuhlii

Taxonomy (Name)

Picture

Distribution, Range

This species is endemic to Bawean Island (= Pulau Bawean), in the Javan Sea off the northern coast of Java, Indonesia (Lachenmeier and Melisch 1996; Grubb 2005). Two main parts of the island are used, the central mountain range, and Mount Bulu in the south-west (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978, 1987). Tanjung Cina (= Cina Cape), an area of 950 m x 300 m, which has hilly topography in its centre and no resident human population, lies at the north-west of Bawean Island and is often cut off from the main island by a sea level of 20?150 m; it has been much used by Bawean Deer since at least the 1990s (Semiadi 2004).

Today's restriction to Bawean is a relict from occurrence on Java, probably into the Holocene (van den Brink 1982), its disappearance from Java perhaps being caused by competition with Javan Rusa Rusa timorensis and Southern Red Muntjac Muntiacus muntjak (Meijaard and Groves 2004).

A specimen in the Institute of Zoology, Beijing, is labelled from Bangka Island, which lies off Sumatra (Indonesia); this is presumably in error (Grubb 2005). The species was supposedly discovered by Salomon Muller in 1836 in Tuban, a small town on the northern coast of Java, where the local governor kept a small herd in his garden, and the native range was discovered only after the name was proposed (Sitwell 1970). The species presumably evolved from a Pleistocene Javan Axis species (perhaps Axis lydekkeri) at a time when Bawean was connected to Java via a land bridge (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987; Meijaard and Groves 2004). Suggestions that the genus was introduced to Bawean by early European settlers seem unlikely (Sitwell 1970) because of the wealth of fossil material (reviewed in Meijaard and Groves 2004), and were not ever referred to by Grubb (2005).

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Map

Country

Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia	IUCN
Japan
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Myanmar
Mongolia
Philippines
Singapore
Republic of Korea
Thailand
Vietnam

Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

CRIUCN

Justification

This species is listed as Critically Endangered because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with at least 90% confined to one subpopulation, which, although currently stable, is expected to go into continuing decline due to an deterioration in habitat quality through invasion by Eupatorium.

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CITES

Appendix I

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National Status

Ecology Discription

Appearance

Habitat

Bawean Deer is found in primary and secondary forest, reaching higher densities in the latter (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978; G. Semiadi and S. Pudyatmoko pers. comm. 2006). The species occurs up to 500 m asl (G. Semiadi and S. Pudyatmoko< pers. comm. 2006), typically in hill forests rather than the marshy grasslands where Hog Deer is most numerous (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987), despite the close taxonomic relationship of these two species. Bawean Deer uses forests with dense undergrowth for refuge while they rest during the day (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978). It enters croplands, feeding on corn and cassava leaves, as well as grasses among the crops (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987; G. Semiadi and Boeadi pers. comm. 2006). The species is found mainly in secondary forest, but enters burned grassy openings during the dry season (Blouch and Sumaryoto 1987). The most recent assessments are in Semiadi (2004).

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Population size

Bawean Deer was reported as 'plentiful' during the 19th century. The population increased in the 1950s in response to forest protection, declined during the 1960s?1970s (Grimwood 1976), although no estimates are available, and in the 1980s was thought to number around 300 animals and to be increasing once again (Blouch 1980; Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987). Through a 1991 survey the deer was suspected to be in decline (Gunawan and Kustanto 1994) In 2006, the wild population was estimated (based on field-work in 1998?2003) to be stable at 250?300 animals (Semiadi 2004; G. Semiadi and S. Pudyatmoko pers. comm. 2006), but there has been no systematic survey; 500 would be an absolute maximum (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2008). Secondary forest seems to be the ideal habitat, supporting up to 19.2 deer per km2 (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978). Teak Tectona grandis forests with understorey, primary forest, and areas with teak and lalang support densities of 3.3 to 7.4 deer per km2, while regions dominated by Melastoma polyanthum and Eurya nitida brush, Rombok Merremia peltata, disturbed primary forest, and teak without understorey support only 0.9-2.2 deer per km2 (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987). The most recent assessment is in Semiadi (2004), who drew attention to the wet-season densities of 11.8 animals per km2 on Tanjung Cina (= Cina Cape).

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Behavior

Bawean Deer are primarily nocturnal, active intermittently through the night. They are very wary, and appear to avoid contact with people; where human activity is heavy, the deer spend the day in forests on steep slopes that are inaccessible to teak loggers. Individuals are occasionally seen on the beach in the southwest of the island, but otherwise are rarely seen directly (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978, 1987). It is typically solitary, although duos made up of a doe and fawn or a buck following a doe sometimes occur (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978).

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Diet

Bawean Deer primarily grazes on herbs and grasses, but also browses young leaves and twigs (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987). An individual deer produces 13 faecal pellet groups per day, a number which has been used to estimate population numbers (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978).

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Reproduction

The seasonal rut is in September and October, although males may be found in breeding condition (i.e. with hard antlers) throughout the year (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987; Whitehead 1993). The gestation period is 225?230 days, after which a single fawn is born, very rarely twins (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987; Whitehead 1993). Most births occur from February to June; they occasionally occur in other months (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1987). In captivity, breeding occurs year round with females maintaining an interbirth interval of 9 months (Blouch and Atmosoedirdjo 1978).

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Threat

Major Threat(s)

Bawean Deer has been subject to uncontrolled hunting, probably since human settlement took place some 500 years ago. During the 1960s much forest on Bawean was replaced by teak plantations; coupled with increased hunting pressure, this probably caused the species to decline in numbers. Hunting ceased in 1977, and the population increased during the next few years (Anonymous 1978; Blouch and Sumaryoto 1987; G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2006). The hunting of pigs Sus scrofa with dogs persists, and leads to inadvertent death of deer (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2006), but at the population level hunting is no longer a threat (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2008). Presently, fewer than five deer die per year through direct human influence, chiefly in traffic accidents and when being chased by local dogs during pig hunts (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2008). Maturation of teak (including coppicing from cut stumps) and invasion by the American herb Eupatorium odoratum (= Chromolaena odorata; Compositae) constitute the only significant predictable threat to this deer, through reducing the grazing areas and this carrying capacity (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2008). For a population at best on the edge of the oft-quoted, though somewhat arbitrary, minimum figure for a population viable into the long term (500), such a further reduction (on top of the major contraction in available habitat for the species over past centuries) should be seen as a major threat despite recent population stability.

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Conservation and Measurement

International

This species is listed on CITES Appendix I (CITES 2000). It is protected from hunting not just on paper, but effectively in practice (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2008).

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National

It inhabits Bawean Island Nature Reserve (5,000 ha; the island is 200 km2 in size), established in 1979 for which a management plan prepared in 1979 (WWF 1979; Blouch and Sumaryoto 1987) warrants revision. Management activities have included termination of hunting, controlled burning of grassy areas within forests, and thinning of teak plantations to encourage understory development (Blouch and Sumaryoto 1987). Since 2000 a captive breeding programme has been operative on Bawean; as of 2006 it involved two stags and five hinds, while about 300?350 animals are held in zoos and private captive breeding facilities off the island (G. Semiadi pers. comm. 2006).

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Conservation law

Protected Area

It inhabits Bawean Island Nature Reserve (5,000 ha; the island is 200 km2 in size), established in 1979 for which a management plan prepared in 1979 (WWF 1979; Blouch and Sumaryoto 1987) warrants revision.

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Other Coservation Projects

Recommended conservation actions, which should proceed through appropriate revisions to the management plan, include:

1) Increase the populations and if possible expand the area used by the deer. While the population seems to be stable, its small size and insular nature leave it susceptible to chance events (e.g. weather-related disasters or earthquakes or disease), to any resumption of hunting and probably to inbreeding. Increasing Eupatorium will result in time in population decrease. There is thus a major role for active management of habitat through control of Eupatorium, so as to increase population density within the protected area, and thus total population. This species, a problem plant throughout much of South and South-east Asia, is very difficult to control and review of international successes and failures is needed to inform management of the weed on Bawean. Full security would come only through an increase of the range on the island, requiring some deer-centred management for areas outside the protected area.

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Citation

Anonymous. 1978. Hunting ban helps rare deer. Oryx 14: 311.

Blouch, R. 1980. Kuhl's Deer, Bawean Island, Indonesia. Tiger Paper 7(1): 22-23.

Blouch, R. A. and Atmosoedirdjo, A. 1978. Preliminary report on the status of the Bawean deer (Axis kuhli). Threatened Deer: Proceedings of a Working Meeting of the Deer Specialist Group of the Survival Service Commission, pp. 49-55. IUCN, Morges, Switzerland.

Blouch, R. A. and Atmosoedirdjo, S. 1987. Biology of the Bawean deer and prospects for its management. In: C. M. Wemmer (ed.), Biology and Management of the Cervidae, pp. 320-327. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Blower, J. 1975. Report on a visit to Pulau Bawean. Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Project, ISN/73/013.

Chasen, F. N. 1940. A handlist of Malaysian mammals; a systematic list of the mammals of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java, including the adjacent small islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum, Singapore 15: 1-209.

Grimwood, I. 1976. Hunting a deer to extinction. Oryx 13(3): 294?296.

Groves, C. P. and Grubb, P. 1987. Relationships of Living Deer. In: C. Wemmer (ed.), Biology and Management of the Cervidae, pp. 1-40. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., USA.

Grubb, P. 2005. Artiodactyla. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), pp. 637-722. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA.

Gunawan, D. and Kustanto, I. 1994. Survey on larger mammals in Bawean Island. Deer Specialist Group News 12: 10-11.

Haltenorth, T. H. 1963. Klassifikation Saugetiere Afrikas und Madagaskars. BLV Verlagsages schaft, Munchen, Germany.

IUCN. 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008).

Lachenmeier, K. and Melisch, R. 1996. Der Bawean Hirsch (Axis kuhli): Status und Schutz einer wenig bekannten Hirschart Indonesiens [The Bawean deer (Axis kuhli): status and protection of a little known deer species of Indonesia]. Zoologische Gesellschaft fuer Arten und Populationsschutz E. V. Mitteilungen 12(1): 23-25.

Meijaard, I. and Groves, C. P. 2004. Morphometrical relationships between South-east Asian deer (Cervidae, tribe Cervini): evolutionary and biogeographic implications. Journal of Zoology (London) 263: 179-196.

Pitra, C., Fickel, J., Meijaard, E. and Groves, C. 2004. Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880-895.

Semiadi, G. 2004. Sifat Biologi Rusa Bawean (Axis kuhlii) [Biological aspects of Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii)]. Puslit Biologi LIPI Press, Bogor.

Semiadi, G. 2008. Sifat Biologi Rusa Bawean (Axis kuhlii) [Biological aspects of Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii)]. Puslit Biologi LIPI Press, Bogor.

Sitwell, N. 1970. Bawean Island Expedition. Animals 12: 389-393.

Van Bemmel, A. C. V. 1944. The taxonomic poistion of Cervus kuhlii. Mull Et Schl Treubia 1: 149?155.

Van den Brink, L. M. 1982. On the mammal fauna of the Wajak cave, Java (Indonesia). Modern Quaternary Research in Southeast Asia 7: 177?193.

Whitehead, K. G. 1993. The Whitehead Encyclopedia of Deer. Voyageur Press, Inc, Stillwater, MN, USA.

World Wildlife Fund. 1979. Proposed Bawean Island Wildlife Reserve Management Plan. World Wide Fund for Nature, Bogor, Indonesia.

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