Afghan Fanged Deer - Halloween is clearly not entirely over as these last days, more than one fanged deer was seen in Afghanistan.
1948 was the last year that a fanged deer, formally called the Kashmir musk deer or Moschus cupreus, was seen; according to scientific surveys and noted by IFL Science.
Now, more than 60 years later, the musk deer returns! In the Oct. 22 edition of Oryx's journal, the Wildlife Conservation Society reported five different sightings of the fanged deer.
These varied between: "one lone male in the same area three times, one female with a child, and one solitary female - which may have been the same dear without her young," the Washington Post shared.
Most people would assume that a fanged deer or any sort of animal with fangs, would use this asset to attack profusely or even suck blood. After "Dracula" was introduced by Bram Stoker and later on even "Twilight" appeared, fangs tend to mean one thing.
That thing is blood and holes in necks. Yet, these animals don't use their fangs in that way at all. As a matter of fact, they use them to look more attractive.
It might sound unconceivable, but when there is a deer with fangs and a deer without them, the one which does have them, tends to stand out. And apparently, there is a certain charm in those fangs for the female species, if the fanged one is a male.
Still, there is one unanswered matter here: why did the Kashmir musk deer become extinct before?
It turns out that one extremely valuable feature these creatures have are their scent glands, or musk.
"Gram for gram, musk is one of the most valuable products in the natural kingdom and can be worth three times more than its weight on gold," National Geographic shared.
It seems that the price goes over $20,000 in the black market. Due to this fact, the poachers hunt down musk deer profusely. And as an obvious and tragic conclusion, they became extinct.
Taking this into consideration, it's nothing short of a miracle for the fanged deer to resurface once again in Afghanistan.
