Discovery of the Roosevelt's Barking Deer (Muntiacus rooseveltorum) in Vietnam
Single
specimen of the Roosevelt's muntjac or Roosevelt's barking deer (Muntiacus
rooseveltorum) was presented to the Field Museum in 1929 following the Kelley-Roosevelts
expedition organized by Theodore (Jnr) and Kermit Roosevelt.
The
specimen is slightly smaller than the common muntjac and DNA testing has shown
it to be distinct from recently discovered muntjac species. It is a subspecies
of Fea's muntjac, whose home range is mountains further northwest separated by
lower land.
However,
without further evidence, the exact position of Roosevelt's muntjac cannot be
stated. Berlin Zoo supposedly held this species between 1961 and 1972
(following an import from Northern Vietnam) but it could've been an Indian muntjac
subspecies annamensis
Roosevelt's
muntjac was believed to have been extinct since 1929. However, there have been
several recent claims to have rediscovered the species, from evidence including
skulls owned by villagers in the Truong Son (Annamite) mountains between Laos
and Vietnam. More recently, photographs from a camera trap at Xuan Lien Nature
Reserve in Vietnam appear to have identified two individuals.
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