Visayan Spotted Deer - Philippine brown deer - Visayan Deer - Philippine spotted deer - Cervus marianus and Calamian hog deer

There are three species of Philippine deer: Visayan spotted deer, Calamian hog deer and Philippine brown deer (Cervus marianus). Only the Visayan spotted deer and the Calamian hog deer are presently threatened. Few heads of Visayan spotted deers are still found in the remaining forests of Negros and Panay islands. They were previously reported in Cebu, Guimaras and Masbate Islands but excessive hunting and deforestation lead to their extinction in these places. The Visayan spotted deer is a small, attractive animal measuring about 80 cm tall at the shoulder. Their characteristic white spots remain throughout their life.

Visayan Spotted Deer

The Visayan spotted deers are the most endangered deer in the world. They are listed in the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which means that trade of Visayan spotted deer is strictly regulated by law. It is believed that there only about 200 heads of Visayan spotted deer in the wild today. It is seriously threatened with extinction unless illegal hunting and rampant degradation of their habitat are stopped. Conservation measures that have been adopted included the International Philippine Spotted Deer Conservation Program a joint venture between the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the French Parc Zoologique et Botanique De La Ville De Mulhouse (PZBM) (Oliver, 1996). There were two components of the program: establishment of a new national park in Panay and the setting up of captive breeding and rescue centers.

The Philippine Wildlife Loan Agreement (PLWA) signed in 1987 by DENR and Mulhouse Zoo implemented these. Under this agreement West Berlin Zoological Society would provide financial assistance for faunal survey and preliminary management plan for the proposed Panay Mountains National Park. In 1990, the captive breeding component of the Philippine Spotted Deer Conservation Project was realized with the launching of the Philippine Spotted Deer Captive Program. Mulhouse Zoo and the Zoological Society of San Diego funded the project. Two breeding and rescue centers were initially established, one in Bitu Farm, Iloilo specifically for spotted deers of Panay origin and the other one in Siliman University, Negros Occidental for spotted deers of Negros origin. A third breeding center was later on put up in Bacolod, Negros Occidental.

Philippine brown deer

The ultimate aim of the breeding centers was to establish a "world herd" of Visayan spotted deers. The initial population inthese centers was composed of Visayan spotted deers donated by private persons who keep these animals as pets and also those caught from the wild. In 1995, DENR and Melbourne Zoo signed an agreement to establish a Philippine spotted deer Conservation Center for Panay Island population of the deer. This agreement was enlarged in 1998 to include the White Oak Conservation Center in Florida. Under this agreement, Melbourne Zoo, which provides financial support to the program, will receive a group of Philippine spotted deer in 2000 to start a regional Australasian zoo program. Incidentally, the Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation, Inc. (NFEFI) reported the birth of the first captive bred spotted deer fawn on November 20, 1996 at its Conservation Center in Bacolod. Research on basic nutritional requirements and reproductive physiology of the Philippine spotted deer should be encouraged to complement various conservation measures.

Blood values, blood clotting time, respiratory rate, pulse rate and temperature important in disease diagnosis should be established in this species. Maala and Saguibo (1997) who examined the cuticular patterns of the hairs of Calamian deer, Visayan spotted deer and mouse deer by means of scanning electron microscopy claimed that it is possible to distinguish the Visayan spotted deer from the Calamian deer through the cuticular patterns of their hairs.