Kashmir Musk Deer (Moschus cupreus): Poachable Aphrodisiac, Incense, Meat, Medicine, Perfume, Tusks

The place name Kashmir figures in the common, non-scientific, popular name of one of Asia’s seven musk-scented deer species. It hallows the location of the first specimen known to be taxonomized by wildlife-loving specialists for audiences outside Asia and in line with Linnaean faunal and floral classification systems. The formal identification in question indeed links with preserved moschids (musk deers) from the entire Kashmir culture-impacted valley -- between the Great Himalayan and Pir Panjal Mountain Ranges -- of what nowadays subdivides into:

• The Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
• The Republic of India.

But it also references subsequent specimens from Pakistan’s western neighbor. In the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the common name takes the English-language form Afghan fanged deer.

The genus Moschus to which all seven moss-eating, musk-fabricating deer species belong in fact owes its scientific classification and taxonomic recognition in 1758 to Swedish nobleman Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), as:

• Bi-linguist in Latin, Swedish;
• Biologist from Råshult village, Småland province, southern Sweden;
• Botanist;
• Founder of Royal Swedish Academy of Science;
• Inventor of modern ecology and taxonomy;
• Physician;
• Professor and Rector at Uppsala University;
• Publisher of Systema Naturae (“System of Nature”);
• Taxonomist.

The Greco-Latin, scientific, taxonomic name requires:

• Binomialism (two-name nomenclature), whereby the name of the genus is followed by that of its immediate subdivision, the species;
• Trinomialism (three-name nomenclature), whereby genus and species names precede that of the subsequent subdivision, the subspecies.

Some of Asia’s moschid species claim sub-classification into subspecies. But the Kashmir musk deer species currently does not figure among those that do. The species name emerges as cupreus. The Latin masculine singular adjective typically gets translated as “copper-colored.” It highlights the beautiful coloration of the west Asian species. Its inclusion in the complete scientific name is due to the taxonomical expertise in 1982 of Ealing-born English scientist Peter Grubb (1942 – December 23, 2006), as:

• Recipient of the Zoological Society of London’s Thomas Henry Huxley (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) Award for researching Scotland’s Soay sheeps (Ovis aries) on St. Kilda Archipelago, 1968;
• Taxonomist of Africa’s and Asia’s mammal populations;
• Zoologist at the University of Ghana.

Black, brown, copper, grey, and white comingle on the Kashmir musk deer’s physique. Black darkens the eyes and nose. Brown dots the ear-backs and flanks. Copper embellishes the body’s sides and top. Grey gives elegant touches to all body parts. White lightens the head:

• Along the throat;
• Around the eyes;
• At the base of the ears;
• Between the eyes and mouth;
• With dental formulas of 2 canines, 6 pre-molars, and 6 molars equally distributed over the left and right sides of the upper jaw and of 6 incisors, 2 canines, 6 pre-molars, and 6 molars equivalently divided between the left and right sides of the lower jaw.

The enamel looks particularly bright on the male’s mating-season tusks.

The two tusks appear only on Kashmir moschid males. They technically cannot be considered fangs since the two long, pointed canine teeth do not get used in:

• Biting;
• Flesh-eating;
• Venom-injecting.

They function only during the yearly breeding season to:

• Impress females;
• Intimidate rivals.

The Kashmir musk deer indeed has no need of special dentition in order to consume:

• Flowers;
• Foliage;
• Grasses;
• Lichens;
• Mosses;
• Twigs.

There likewise is no reason for employing the tusks to offense or self-defense since the Kashmir musk deer eludes predators through the combination of:

• Acute hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching;
• Agile legs, with the rear pair being longer than the front.

The Kashmir musk deer indeed manages to scale slopes of 20°+ inclines.

After gestating 150 – 180 days, sexually mature 1+-year-olds deliver annually one May- or June-born fawn:

• Weighing 15.52 – 16.58 ounces (440 – 470 grams);
• Welcoming all-milk diets during the first 90 – 120 days.

Physical maturity expresses for both genders:

• Lengths of 31.49 – 39.37 inches (80 – 100 centimeters);
• Shoulder heights of 19.69 – 27.56 inches (50 – 70 centimeters);
• Weights of 15.43 – 37.48 pounds (7 – 17 kilograms).

Adults nimbly handle steep slopes:

• 3,772.97 – 9,842.52 feet (1,150 – 3,000 meters) above sea level during cold weather;
• 9,842.52 – 11,482.94+ feet (3,000 – 35,000+ meters) during warm weather.

They inhabit:

• Alpine meadows, plateaus, scrublands;
• Coniferous (Pinophyta division), fir (Abies spp), oak (Quercus spp), pine (Pinus spp) forests;
• Cushion plant-rich fell-fields;
• Juniper (Juniperus squamata), rhododendron (Rhododendron spp) shrublands.

Kashmir moschids escape detection within summertime home and territorial ranges. But snowfall forces them altitudinally downward. Elevations below 9,842.52 feet (3,000 meters) give them less anonymity and higher visibility. More human-scalable heights let rifle- and snare-wielding hunters kill, maim, or trap endangered Kashmir moschids because of year-round predictability in:

• Feeding paths;
• Resting perches atop anthills, crests, hills, ridges;
• Sheltering pits under branched trees, protruding rocks, and sloped trees and within bushy thickets;
• Waste-dropping places;
• Watering points at rivulets.

Wild Kashmir moschids may survive in:

• Afghanistan’s Nuristan Forest National Reserve;
• Azad Kashmir’s Machiara National Park, Mori Said Ali, Phalla, Toli Pir.

But sustainable populations throughout western Asia require sustainability of:

• Environmental education;
• Government protection;
• Scientific research;
• Wildlife-loving activism.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

native landscapes of Kashmir Musk Deer: Skardu Town, at elevation of 7,303 feet (2,226 meters), in Karakoram Range
Karakoram encompasses world's highest concentration of peaks over 26, 246-plus feet (8000-plus meters) in height. After polar regions, Karakoram is world's most heavily glaciated area.
view from Skardu Fort, Gilgit–Baltistan, northernmost Pakistan; disputed Kashmir region: Waqas Usman (Waqas.usman), CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SkarduFromFort1175.JPG

Kashmir Musk Deer native range: Upper Kachura Lake in Karakoram Range, with a depth of 230 feet (70 metres), is sited amidst floral richness in Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests.
Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, northernmost Pakistan: disputed Kashmir region: Drnajeebansari at English Wikipedia, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Upper_Kachura_Lake_Skardu.JPG

Musk deer genus, Moschus, exemplifies the phenomenal attention to detail that was intrinsic to genius of Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778).
1920 statue of Carl Linnaeus by Swedish sculptor Carl Eldh (May 10, 1873 – January 26, 1954)
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, northeastern Ohio: Daderot, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleveland_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_Carolus_Linnaeus_by_Carl_Eldh.jpg

Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster): Kashmir Musk Deer, formerly considered a subspecies of Alpine Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster), is similar in appearance to Himalayan Musk Deer.
Richard Lydekker, The Great and Small Game of India, Burma, and Tibet (1900), Plate VII, Figure 5, between pages 238-239: via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/greatsmallgameof1900lyde/page/n287/mode/1up

Himalayan pines (Pinus wallichiana) dot the Karakoram Range in Kashmir Musk Deer homelands in northern Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan) and northern India (Jammu and Kashmir).
Pine needles are delectable edibles for musk deer (Moschus).
Pahalgam, western Jammu and Kashmir State, northern India: prakhar on Flickr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_wallichiana_Pahalgham.jpg

Kashmir Musk Deer overlap with predators such as endangered snow leopards (Panthera uncia syn. Uncia uncia) in Hemis National Park (eastern Ladakh) and Khunzerav National Park (northeast Gilgit-Baltistan).
Mikmar, snow leopard at home in Hemis National Park, also known as Hemis High Altitude National Park
eastern Ladakh region, eastern Jammu and Kashmir State, northern India: Rodney Jackson, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mikmar.jpg

Himalayan birch (Betula utilis), known locally as bhojpatra
English naturalist Richard Lydekker (July 25, 1849 – April 16, 1915) noted prevalence of musk deer in birch forests, above pine zones, of Kashmir.
Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, northern India: J.M. Garg, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silver_Birch_(Bhojpatra)_I_IMG_3405.jpg

Kashmir Musk Deer may be found in Machiara National Park in northeastern Pakistan's deeply forested Neelam Valley.
Neelam Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern Pakistan: Murtaza Mahmud from Islamabad, Pakistan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Azad_kashmir.jpg

Kashmir Musk Deer homelands: Ladakh region, formerly Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh, northern India
Altitudinous and precipitous, landlocked Ladakh offers appealing habitats for Kashmir Musk Deer.
Leh, eastern Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir State, northern India: Sushant gupta, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Leh_from_Shanti_Stupa.jpg

Kashmir Musk Deer homelands include the Karakoram Range, stretching from Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan south into Ladakh in northern India.
Milky Way from Concordia Camp, confluence of Baltoro Glacier and Godwin-Austen Glacier, in Karakoram Range
Karakoram Range, Gilgit-Baltistan (disputed Kashmir region), northern Pakistan: Anne Dirkse (www.annedirkse.com), CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milky_Way_at_Concordia_Camp,_Karakoram_Range,_Pakistan.jpg

“Afghan Fanged Deer Seen After 60 Years of Disappearance from the Wildlife.” Food World News.com: News. New York, NY. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.foodworldnews.com/articles/7946/20141102/afghan-fanged-deer-seen-after-60-years-of-disappearance-from-the-wildlife.htm

“Afghan Fanged Deer Spotted After 60-Year Absence: First Kashmir Musk Deer Seen Since 1948.” The Inquisitr News: Animal News > 1 November 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.inquisitr.com/1577730/afghan-fanged-deer-spotted-after-60-year-absence/

Algar, Jim. 31 October 2014. "First Afghan Fanged Deer Spotted After 60 Years." Tech Times.com. New York, NY: Tech Times LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/19237/20141031/first-afghan-fanged-deer-spotted-after-60-years.htm

Bald, Linsey. 1 November 2014. "Afghan Fanged Deer Spotted After Six Decades: 'Vampire' Deer in Halloween Debut." Examiner.com: News / Top News. AXS Digital Group LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.examiner.com/article/afghan-fanged-deer-spotted-after-six-decades-vampire-deer-halloween-debut

Balthasar, Felix. 1 November 2014. “Kashmir Musk Deer Spotted in Afghanistan, First Sighting in 60 Years.” Maine News: Science. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://newsmaine.net/21218-kashmir-musk-deer-spotted-afghanistan-first-sighting-60-years

Baskin, Leonid. "Musk Deer (Moschinae)." Pp. 335-338 in Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition. Volume 15, Mammals IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Devra G. Kleiman, Valerius Geist, and Melissa C. McDade. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.

Bravo, Kristina. “Fanged Deer Pops Up Six Decades After Last Sighting.” Yahoo! News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://news.yahoo.com/fanged-deer-pops-six-decades-last-sighting-181830313.html;_ylt=AwrBT8_oQVVUWWgAKtNXNyoA

DDN Correspondent. 1 November 2014. "Fanged Afghan Deer Sighted After 60 Years." Delhi Daily News.com: Sci & Tech. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.delhidailynews.com/news/Fanged-Afghan-deer-spotted-after-60-years-1414826544/

Dickerson, Kelly. 3 November 2014. “Deer with ‘Vampire Fangs’ Spotted for 1^st Time in Decades.” Live Science: Animals. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.livescience.com/48585-fanged-deer-sighting-afghanistan.html

Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA. 21 January 2014. “Musk Deer.” Tibet Nature Environmental Conservation Network. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.tibetnature.net/en/musk-deer/

Farrell, Richard. 31 October 2014. "First Afghan Fanged Deer Seen in More Than 60 Years." Discovery.com: Animals > Endangered Species. Discovery Communications, LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/first-afghan-fanged-deer-seen-in-more-than-60-years-141031.htm?AID=11732244&PID=6151680&SID=yfk2b5uuquso&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.discovery.com%2Fanimals%2Fendangered-species%2Ffirst-afghan-fanged-deer-seen-in-more-than-60-years-141031.htm&ecid=AFF-7975437&pa=affcj&PCID=2470763

Feltman, Rachel. 31 October 2014. “Fanged Deer Pops up in Afghanistan, 60 Years After Its Last Appearance.” The Washington Post: Speaking of Science. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/10/31/fanged-deer-pops-up-in-afghanistan-60-years-after-its-last-appearance/

Fernandez, Kristina. 1 November 2014. “Fanged Afghan Deer Believed Extinct Sighted After 60 Years.” China Topix.com: Science. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/20258/20141101/fanged-afghan-vampire-deer-seen-after-60-years-of-disappearance.htm

Flerov, Konstantin Konstantinovich. 1952. Musk Deer and Deer. Moscow, Russia: Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Graham, Karen. “Thought to be Extinct, the Fanged Deer of Afghanistan Lives on.” Digital Journal.com: Science. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/thought-to-be-extinct-the-fanged-deer-of-afghanistan-lives-on/article/412235

Green, M.J.B. 1987. “Some Ecological Aspects of a Himalayan Population of Musk Deer.” Pp. 307-319 in The Biology and Management of Cervidae edited by C.M. Wemmer. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press.

Griffiths, Sarah. “Return of the Vampire DEER: Bizarre Fanged Mammal Spotted in Afghanistan for First Time in 60 Years.” Daily Mail Online: Science & Tech. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2819109/Return-vampire-DEER-Bizarre-fanged-mammal-spotted-Afghanistan-time-60-years.html

Groves, C.P. 2011. "Family Moschidae (Musk-Deer)." In Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals edited by D.E. Wilson and R.A. Mittermeier. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.

Groves, C.P.; and Grubb, P. 1987. "Relationships of Living Deer." Pp. 1-40 in Biology and Management of the Cervidae edited by C. Wemmer. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Groves, C. P.; Yingxiang, W.; and Grubb, P. 1995. "Taxonomy of Musk-Deer, Genus Moschus (Moschidae, Mammalia)." Acta Theriologica Sinica 15(3):181-197.

<>Grubb, P. 2005. "Artiodactyla." Pp. 637-722 in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd Edition) Edited by D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Hassinger, Jerry D. 6 April 1973. "A Survey of the Mammals of Afghanistan, Resulting from the 1965 Street Expedition (Excluding Bats)." Fieldiana Zoology 60:1162. Chicago IL: Field Museum of Natural History Press.

• Available via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/surveyofmammalso60hass

Hays, Brooks. 31 October 2014. “Fanged Deer Spotted in Afghanistan, First Sighting in 60 Years.” UPI.com: Science News. Washington, D.C.: United Press International, Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2014/10/31/Fanged-deer-spotted-in-Afghanistan-first-sighting-in-60-years/4541414799739/

“Kashmir Muskdeer (Moschus cupreus).” ARKive.org: Species > Mammals. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.arkive.org/kashmir-muskdeer/moschus-cupreus/

Kelly, Steve. 1 November 2014. “Rare Deer with FANGS Feared Extinct Is Spotted for First Time in Over 60 Years.” Mirror.Co.UK: News > Weird News > Rare Animals. London, England: The Daily Mirror, MGN Ltd., Trinity Mirror plc. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/rare-deer-fangs-feared-extinct-4547111

Lydekker, R. (Richard). 1900. The Great and Small Game of India, Burma, & Tibet. London: Rowland Ward, Limited.

• Available via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/greatsmallgameof1900lyde

Maher, Julie Larsen. “Musk Deer.” EurekAlert!.com: Multimedia > Public Releases. Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/81861.php?from=281158

“Moschus cupreus (Kashmir Muskdeer).” ZipcodeZoo: Species Identifier 4753183. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://zipcodezoo.com/animals/m/moschus_cupreus/

Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker’s Mammals of the World. Sixth edition. Baltimore, MD; and London, England: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ostrowski, Stephane; Rahmani, Haqiq; Ali, Jan Mohammad; Ali, Rita; and Zahler, Peter. 22 October 2014. “Musk deer Moschus cupreus Persist in the Eastern Forests of Afghanistan.” Oryx / FirstView Article 1-6. Available on CJO2014. doi:10.1017/S0030605314000611.

Pickrell, John. 7 September 2004. “Poachers Target Musk Deer for Perfumes, Medicines.” National Geographic.com: News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0907_040907_muskdeer.html

Qaisar, Raja. “About Azad Kasmir.” Kashmir Wildlife. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.kashmirwildlife.com/index.html

Rawat, Gopal S.; and Wikramanayake, Eric D., with contributions from Pralad Yonzon. “Himalayan Subtropical Pine Forests.” World Wildlife Fund: Ecoregions > Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/im0301

Rue, Dr. Leonard Lee III. 2003. The Encyclopedia of Deer: Your Guide to the World's Deer Species, Including Whitetails, Mule Deer, Caribou, Elk, Moose, and More. Stillwater MN: Voyageur Press.

Sautner, Stephen; and Delaney, John. 31 October 2014. “Strange, Fanged Deer Persists in Afghanistan.” WCS.org: Press > Press Releases. Bronx, NY: Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved December 16, 2014. Available at:

• http://www.wcs.org/press/press-releases/strange-vampire-deer.aspx

• http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/wcs-sfd103114.php

• http://phys.org/news/2014-10-strange-fanged-deer-persists-afghanistan.html
• http://www.sciencecodex.com/strange_fanged_deer_persists_in_afghanistan-144656

• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141031120449.htm

Shakespeare, William. 1597. Henry the Fourth, Part 2. Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 26 - 31: III:1:26 - 31.

Sterndale, Robert A. (Armitage). 1884. Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon. Calcutta, India: Thacker, Spink, and Co.; Bombay, India: Thacker and Co., Limited; London, England: W. Thacker and Co.

• Available via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00ster

Su, B.; Wang, Y.X.; Lan, H.; Wang W.; and Zhang, Y. P. 2001. "Phylogenetic Study of Complete Cytochrome b Genes in Musk Deer (Genus Moschus) Using Museum Samples." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 12(3):241-249.

Timmins, R.J.; and Duckworth, J.W. 2008. "Moschus cupreus." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/136750/0

Zurko, Roz. 1 November 2014. "Afghan Fanged Deer Not Seen in 60 Years Rediscovered: Fangs for Mating Ritual." Examiner.com: News / Top News. AXS Digital Group LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2014. 

• Available at: http://www.examiner.com/article/afghan-fanged-deer-not-seen-60-years-rediscovered-fangs-for-mating-ritual