Water chevrotains give birth to precocial young, capable of standing within an hour after birth. Females spend most of their day apart from their young and meet only to suckle them. The female has a smaller home range than the male, approximately 13-14 ha in area. Males are solitary, occupying temporary home ranges of 20-30 ha. This range usually overlaps the home range of 2 females.
Males only occupy a home range for at most a year, after which they are replaced by another male.
Few aggressive behaviors have been observed within the species, and some researchers propose that this indicates a lack of social hierarchy. Short fights occasionally occur among males, who use their sharp canines to bite their opponent. The injuries sustained during these fights are the most likely cause of the general avoidance of conspecifics observed in these chevrotains. While the population density ranges between 7.7 and 28 individuals per sq. Perhaps because of this, young animals seldom exhibit play activities.