WERE THERE MOOSE IN NORTHERN BORNEO IN THE 19TH CENTURY?

Tuesday 29th November 2022

WERE THERE MOOSE IN NORTHERN BORNEO IN THE 19TH CENTURY?

I found a reference to moose-deer in a place called Limbang which is in northern Borneo in a book called Life in the Forests of the Far East volume 2 by Spenser St John (1862). I honestly thought I had mis-read it and it really said mouse-deer, but today I double checked and it really does say moose-deer. I presume this means actually the moose. The mouse-deer is also known as the Chevrotain and is an inhabitant of South and Southeast Asia.

The relevant passage in Spenser St John`s book is as follows: (page 52):

” Just before dusk a man shouted out that there were moose-deer in the island. We instituted a very active search , but the cunning animals hid themselves away in the long grass and brushwood so that without dogs they were not to be found,and swimming exceedingly well ,they always take to the water when pursued…” I wonder what moose-deer can have been? I did a quick Google search on “deer of Borneo” and there is nothing the size of a moose. 

Richard Muirhead
Richard Muirhead has been a friend of the CFZ longer than anyone else. He first ,et Jon Downes in 1970 when they were both living in Hong Kong. They have been friends ever since.