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 Musk Deer
The musk deer is a primitive deer about the size of a medium-sized dog. It has large,
rounded ears, no visible tail, an arched back, and long hind limbs. The male has long
upper canines or tusks and has a highly prized musk gland, the contents of which are
literally worth their weight in gold. Musk deer are solitary and shy most of the time,
though their droppings are commonplace occurrences on trails. Their preferred domain is
birch forest and scrub in the upper temperate and alpine zones. In other parts of the
Himalayas west of Bhutan, local people hunt them with dogs, snares and poisoned spears.
For some villages, they represent an important source of income.
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