South American Brown Brocket

The gray brocket is found in northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. They range from the western part of South America, in the East Andes foothills in Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. From there, it extends eastward, through semiopen regions such as the Gran Chaco, Cerrado, and Caatinga, to the Atlantic Ocean. It does not live in the Amazon rainforest region (where it is replaced by the Amazonian brown brocket), and its distribution runs south to the mouth of the Paraná River in Argentina. It is found in brushy vegetation and forest edge, but typically avoids both open habitats without cover and dense forest.

Gray brockets are active during the day, but generally only appear in the open at night. They are solitary and territorial, with the male defending a larger territory and the female a smaller core area. Unless under cover, they are very shy and nervous when held captive.

Diet. The gray brocket is a herbivore that chooses what it eats selectively, though it does eat a wide variety of plants. During some periods, the grays brocket may become primarily fruit-eating, but this depends on the season, area, and availability of fruits. Many of the fruits are in dense forests, which it for the most part avoids, but it does find other sources of fruits and also other sources of food. In the dry season, they eat the fruit from trees such Caesalpinia paraguariensis, which produce dry, tough fruits. Periodically and locally, they also eat cacti, bromeliad fruits, and leaves and roots from succulents to satisfy their water requirements.

Reproduction. The gray brocket reaches sexual maturity around 18 months old. No distinct breeding season is seen. The gestation periods lasts around 7 months, and post partum estrus occurs. Thus, a gray brocket can produce two offspring in a year. After birth, the doe takes care of the fawn until it is weaned, though the time until it is weaned is unknown. …