Richard Lydekker

“ Muntjacs are solitary animals, even two being rarely seen together. They are fond of hilly ground covered with forests, in the dense thickets of which they pass most of their time, only coming to the skirts of the woods at morning and evening to graze. They carry the head and neck low and the hind-quarters high, their action in running being peculiar and not elegant, somewhat resembling the pace of a sheep. ”

“ Though with no power of sustained speed or extensive leaping, they are remarkable for flexibility of body and facility of creeping through tangled underwood. A popular name with Indian sportsmen is “barking deer,” on account of the alarm-cry—a kind of short shrill bark, like that of a fox, but louder. When attacked by dogs, the males use their sharp canine teeth, which inflict deep and even dangerous wounds. ”

“ From this feature the name rib-faced deer has been suggested for the muntjac. The upper canine teeth of the males are large and sharp, projecting outside the mouth as tusks, and loosely implanted in their sockets. In the females they are much smaller. ”