The Philippine Deer (Rusa marianna) goes by several different names. You may have heard it referred to as the Philippine Sambar or the Philippine Brown Deer.
This species is considered vulnerable. It is endemic to the Philippine Islands. Philippine Brown Deer prefer the low grasslands that border the perimeter of the islands they inhabit. But this species is often driven higher into the mountains to seek cover and evade hunting.
What Size is the Philippine Deer?
- Head & Body Length – 100 to 150 cm
- Shoulder height – 55 to 70 cm
- Tail length – 8 to 12 cm
- Weight – 40 to 60 kg
What Does the Philippine Sambar Deer Look Like?
The Philippine Sambar is similar in appearance and habits to the other species of Sambar, and is obviously closely related to them.
Some have questioned whether the Philippine Deer should be considered as a separate species or as a subspecies of one of the other Sambar species. It has the typical Sambar appearance, having a thin slender body, long legs and a short head.
However, it is smaller in size than the other Sambar species and the antlers are much shorter.
The coat is a dark brown color, the under parts paler.
The antlers of the males have 2 to 3 tines, and grow on average to between 30 and 40 cm in length.
Where do Philippine Brown Deer Live?
Now let’s take a look at where you can find this deer species in the world, and what type of habitat they prefer to live in.
Distribution
As its name would suggest, you’ll find this species in the Philippines. Hhere it lives on a number of islands. Primarily, you’ll find the Philippine Deer on the islands of:
- Luzon,
- Mindoro, and
- Mindanao.
Humans probably introduced the Philippine Deer to some islands to provide a source of food. This deer species is considered to be at risk due to a low total population. With that said, most local populations are fairly stable.
Like many deer in this part of the world, this species may be under threat from over hunting and from habitat loss. The growing human population of the Philippines will undoubtedly need more agricultural land in the future, and this could provide a threat to the survival of this type of deer.
Preferred Habitat
The Philippine Sambar lives on steep mountain slopes that are covered by forest and woodland. They live in clearings within the forest. They occur at altitudes up to 3000 metres.
Mating Habits & Reproduction in Philippine Deer
The reproductive life of this animal is thought to be similar to that of other Sambar deer. That said, little is actually known about it due to a lack of research.
The rut takes place in the autumn. Females give birth to a single fawn after a 245 to 285 day long gestation period in the spring of the following year, normally in May or June.
The fawns nurse for about 6 months before their mothers wean them. They reach sexual maturity from 18 months of age.
Unique Behavior of Note
Philippine Sambar Deer feed mostly on mountain species of grasses and herbaceous plants. They have a maximum lifespan of about 15 years and like most species, wild deer don’t live as long.
Humans rarely see Philippine Brown Deer because they are mostly nocturnal.
They lead mostly solitary lives, although they may be seen in small groups occasionally. Their main predator is man.
The Deer That Colonized the Mariana Islands
One of the most curious chapters in this species’ story happened far from the Philippines. In the late 1700s, deer from the Philippines were shipped to Guam — the scientific name Rusa marianna actually refers to the Mariana Islands, where the species was first described from these introduced animals. Descendants of those deer still live on Guam and on other islands in the Marianas, including Rota and Saipan.
On Guam, the introduced population has done almost too well. With no natural predators on the island, deer numbers have grown to the point where their browsing is widely reported to damage native forest regeneration, and the species is managed there as an abundant game animal — a strange contrast with its Vulnerable status in its native range.
Diet: What Philippine Brown Deer Actually Eat
Beyond the mountain grasses mentioned above, Philippine deer take a broad mix of herbs, young shoots, low shrubs, and fallen fruit. They are classic mixed feeders: mostly grazing where grassy clearings are available, but browsing readily inside forest. Animals are often reported feeding in regenerating clearings and old burned areas, where fresh growth is most nutritious. To understand how this grazing-browsing balance works across the deer family, see our guide to what deer eat.
Threats and Conservation Status
The IUCN Red List currently classifies the Philippine deer as Vulnerable. Although it remains the most widespread of the Philippines’ native deer, its overall population is believed to have declined substantially, and it has disappeared from some islands and many lowland areas within its historical range. The two main pressures are familiar ones: intensive hunting for meat, which continues across much of its range, and the steady conversion of forest to farmland. Because the remaining populations are scattered across different islands, local extinctions are hard to reverse — deer cannot recolonize an island on their own.
How the Philippine Deer Compares to Its Relatives
The Philippine deer belongs to the genus Rusa, alongside the big sambar of mainland Asia, the rusa deer of Indonesia, and its fellow Philippine endemic, the Philippine spotted deer. Next to the sambar it is clearly the junior partner — roughly half the shoulder height, with much shorter antlers. Against the Philippine spotted deer, the brown deer is the taller, plainer animal: uniformly dark brown as an adult, where the spotted deer keeps its pale dappling for life. The two also divide the archipelago between them, with the spotted deer confined to the central Visayan islands while the brown deer occupies Luzon, Mindanao, and other islands.
Are there wild deer on Guam?
Yes. The deer on Guam are Philippine deer, descended from animals introduced in the late 1700s. They are now common on the island and are hunted as game, and their heavy browsing is considered a problem for Guam’s native forests.
Is the Philippine deer the same as the sambar?
No, though they are close relatives and the Philippine deer is often called the Philippine sambar. The true sambar is a much larger animal of mainland Asia. Some researchers have debated whether the Philippine deer deserves full species status, but it is generally treated today as a species in its own right, Rusa marianna.
Why are Philippine deer so hard to see in the wild?
A combination of factors: they are largely nocturnal, they favor steep forested slopes, and generations of hunting have made surviving populations extremely wary of people. In most of their native range, droppings, tracks, and trails are seen far more often than the deer themselves.
Related species: Continue exploring the island deer of Southeast Asia with the Philippine spotted deer, the pint-sized Calamian deer, and the Indonesian rusa deer.
Photo courtesy Shukran888, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
