Kerama deer

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Kerama deer
Cervus nippon keramae.jpg
Kerama deer stands looking into camera with plants hanging out of its mouth
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Genus: Cervus
Species:
C. nippon
Subspecies:
C. n. keramae
Trinomial name
Cervus nippon keramae
(Kuroda, 1924)
Synonyms

Sika nippon keramaeKuroda, 1924

The Kerama deer (also Kerama sika) is an endangered subspecies of the Sika deer native to the Kerama Islands. [1] [2] [3] It is currently present on four islands (Aka, Geruma, Fukaji, and Yakabi), having been extirpated from Zamami and Tokashiki. [2]

Contents

History

Kerama deer were imported from the Kagoshima Prefecture in the early 17th century. [2] They were heavily hunted because they destroyed crops, [4] causing the population to rapidly decline, and are now a government-protected species. The total known population was 130 as of 1995 on Aka, [5] with about 100 individuals in total on other islands. [2] They have been designated a Natural Monument of Japan. [2] [6]

Description

Kerama deer have dark brown hair. Only the bucks have antlers, which are shed from March to April. They are small, weighing only about 75 kilograms. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Harris, R.B. (2015). "Cervus nippon". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015 e.T41788A22155877. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41788A22155877.en . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Yamashiro, Asuka; Endo, Akira; Kuwataka, Hidehiko; Matsumoto, Yuki; Yamashiro, Tadashi (2015). "Geographic origin and genetic structure of introduced Sika deer, Kerama deer (Cervus nippon keramae) on Ryukyus inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences". Mammal Study. 40 (3): 187–192. doi:10.3106/041.040.0306.
  3. ↑ Ba, Hengxing; Yang, Fuhe; Xing, Xiumei; Li, Chunyi (2015). "Classification and phylogeny of sika deer (Cervus nippon) subspecies based on the mitochondrial control region DNA sequence using an extended sample set". Mitochondrial DNA. 26 (3): 373–379. doi:10.3109/19401736.2013.836509. Table 1: Subspecies of sika deer.
  4. 1 2 "Kerama Deer (Natural monument)". keramaislands.asia. June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "Nature in Akajima". amsl.or.jp. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Highlights of Keramashoto National Park". env.go.jp. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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