Blastocerus dichotomus or Marsh deer

The South American marsh deer, like the Asiatic swamp deer, is large and has specialized legs. Marsh deer prefer to be in or near standing water not more than 60 cm deep, with low cover such as reeds or bunch-grasses nearby. They avoid dense forest.

It is the largest native deer of South America (male 110 kg, female 70 kg), with males reaching a height of up to 115 cm.

Marsh deer occupies floodplains with tall grass, bushes and clumps of forest along the Rio Parana and in Paraguay.  It is listed as an endangered species but it occurs at high populations densities in the Pantanal.

Numbers and distribution have declined substantially through loss of habitat to agriculture, marsh drainage, controlled hunting and transmission of disease from domestic livestock.

During the rainy season, when the grassland are flooded the deer are forced onto a limited amount of high patches of ground from where cattle are likely to displace them and will outcompete them for  limited forage, causing mortality if the floods are usually prolonged or the islands too small.

It lives alone in small groups, reproduces year-round, is dusk and dawn active, hides in dense vegetation, has an explosive getaway, and runs with its tail raised, similar to white tailed deer.
Blastocerus dichotomus or Marsh deer