Body is covered with short, soft hairs, except for the ears, which are sparsely haired. Antlers are carried on long, bony hair-covered pedicles. These pedicles do not originate on the top of the skull as in other deer, but extend some distance down the face, visible externally as prominent ridges. Antlers are usually just spikes. The upper canine teeth of the males are elongated into tusks, which curve outward from the lips.
Females have small bony knobs and tufts of hair where the antlers occur in the males.
Sri Lanka, the Malay peninsula and Indonesia. Leaves, shoots, tender grasses and fallen fruit. Females reach sexual maturity within a year of age and are polyestrous, with a cycle of 14-21 days and estrous lasting about two days. Gestation is about 210 days. The young is born in dense jungle growth, where it remains hidden until it can move about with its mother.