numerous kinds of habitats, ranging from interior rain
forest (in Central America) to savannas, successional
areas, and montane areas (in South America).
The Marsh Deer (Blastocerus dichotomus; plate 16-
33) is found only in South America and is the largest of
the Neotropical deer. True to its name, it is found only
in marshes and is perhaps best observed in the Brazilian
Pantanal, where it is considered relatively common. It
is believed that the marsh itself helps protect these deer,
reputed to be excellent swimmers, from the Jaguar and
the Puma, their principal predators. But the primary
threats to Marsh Deer now are habitat loss and hunting
by people, principally for antlers. The IUCN lists the
species as vulnerable.
Two small deer species, called brocket deer, are
also found in the Neotropics. The Red Brocket Deer
(Mazama americana; plate 16- 34) occurs in much of
Central America, where it is found mostly in areas
of dense vegetation and forest. It also ranges widely
throughout Amazonia, where it is relatively common,
particularly in dry forests. The other species, the Gray
Brocket Deer (M. gouazoubira), occurs only in South
America.
The small size— they are only about 1 m (3.3 ft)
long and weigh no more than 22 kg (48 lb)— makes
it easy for brocket deer to move quietly and efficiently
through dense understory. Antlers (on males only) are
short and straight, with no branching. Brocket deer are
in many ways ecological equivalents of the chevrotains
or mouse deer (family Tragulidae) of Southeast Asian
and African rain forests.
Tapirs
Tapirs (genus Ta p i r u s) are odd- toed ungulates (order
Perissodactyla), evolutionary relatives of rhinoceroses
and horses. Only four species of tapirs occur in the
world, and three of them are in the American tropics
(the fourth is in the Asian tropics). Tapirs are stocky,
almost hairless animals, brownish to black, depending
upon species, with a short elephantine proboscis and a
dense but short mane of stiff hairs on their upper neck.
The mane probably aids the animal in making its way
through dense undergrowth. Tapirs have an acute sense
of smell and select food plants at least in part on the basis
of odor. They eat only vegetable matter, including leaves
and fruits of various species. Research on a captive tapir
at Barro Colorado Island, Panama, has suggested that
tapirs may be a bit finicky about what plants they devour.Plate 16- 33. A buck Marsh Deer on the Brazilian Pantanal.
Photo by John Kricher.Plate 16- 34. Red Brocket Deer. Photo by Sean Williams.Plate 16- 35. The Brazilian Tapir occurs within forests but also
forages in more open areas, particularly at night. Photo by
Steve Bird.334 chapter 16 from monkeys to tarantulas: endless eccentricities