#ungulate

Asian Wild Water Buffalo (Bubalus arnee), family Bovidae, Aziranga National Park, Assam, India

ENDANGERED.

Divergent effects of native deer and alien wild pigs on forest understoreys

Large herbivores are becoming more common in forests, but their impacts are not always what we expect.

Using nationwide forest inventories and camera-trap data across the eastern United States, researchers compared the effects of native white-tailed deer and alien wild pigs on forest understories. They found that deer generally reduce native seedlings and promote invasive plants, although these effects weaken in warmer, wetter, or steeper landscapes. In contrast, wild pigs often suppress invasive plants and have mixed, context-dependent effects on native seedlings. These results show that herbivore impacts depend on species identity, functional traits and environmental context, with important implications for forest management under global change.

Read the article in Proceedings B:

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2461

Gaur (Bos gaurus), male, family Bovidae, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India

Lowland Bongo (Tragelaphus e. eurycerus), family Bovidae, Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve, Central African Republic

Steenbok Raphicerus campestris

They occur in two distinct clusters, one in East Africa and one in southern Africa. Steenbok live in a variety of habitats from semi-desert, such as the edge of the Kalahari Desert and Etosha National Park, to open woodland and thickets, and stony savannah. They typically browse on low-level vegetation (they cannot reach above 0.9 m), but are also adept at scraping up roots and tubers. When escaping predators, they are known to take refuge in the burrows of aardvarks.

South American Tapir Tapirus terrestris

Also known as anta (Brazilian Portuguese), and la sachavaca (literally "bushcow", in mixed Quechua and Spanish), it can be found near water in the Amazon rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, but also moves quickly on land, even over rugged, mountainous terrain. It has a life span of approximately 25 to 30 years.

Bornean Bearded Pig Sus barbatus

It is found in Southeast Asia—Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and various smaller islands like in Sulu archipelago such as Tawi-Tawi, where it inhabits rainforests and mangrove forests. It can be recognized by its prominent beard. It also sometimes has tassels on its tail.