Taruca
Hippocamelus antisensis (d'Orbigny, 1834)
The taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis) is a species in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. Recorded adults weigh about 68.6 kg and live up to 10.6 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
Quick facts about the taruca
- Weight
- 68.6 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 213 days – 240 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the taruca live?
Not recorded
What is the taruca?
The taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis), also known as the taruka, Peruvian guemal, north Andean deer, north Andean huemul, northern huemul or northern guemal, is a mid sized deer species that inhabits the high regions of the Andes mountains in South America. The common name taruca means "deer" in both the Quechua and Aymara languages. The taruca is closely related to the southern guemal (H. bisulcus), the only other member of the Hippocamelus genus.
From the Wikipedia article “Taruca” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taruca&oldid=1383349334), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the taruca endangered?
The taruca is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the taruca classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCervidae
- genusHippocamelus
- SpeciesHippocamelus antisensis (d'Orbigny, 1834)
Synonyms Cervus antisensis, Hippocamelus antisiensis
Other names and names in other languages (41)
- North Andean deerEnglish
- North Andean deerEnglish
- North Andean huemulEnglish
- North Andean huemulEnglish
- Northern huemulEnglish
- Peruvian guemalEnglish
- Peruvian guemalEnglish
- Peruvian huemulEnglish
- Peruvian huemulEnglish
- TarukaEnglish
- أيل شمال الأنديزArabic
- TarujaAymara
- huemul severníCzech
- Peruviansk HuemulDanish
- AndenhirschGerman
- NordandenhirschGerman
- Nördlicher AndenhirschGerman
- Peruanischer HuemulGerman
- GuemalSpanish
- Ciervo Andino SeptentrionalSpanish
- TarugoSpanish
- TarukaSpanish
- Peruu guemalEstonian
- perunhemuliFinnish
- Guémal PéruvienFrench
- Cerf des Andes SeptentrionalesFrench
- Huémul Des Andes SeptentrionalesFrench
- Huémuld des Andes SeptentrionalesFrench
- אייל אנדים פרואניHebrew
- Perui villásszarvasHungarian
- ペルーゲマルジカJapanese
- 타르카Korean
- 북방안데스사슴Korean
- 페루우에물Korean
- Nordlig AndeshjortNorwegian Bokmål
- Noord-AndeshertDutch
- Peruviaanse HuemulDutch
- huemal peruwiańskiPolish
- Перуанский оленьRussian
- perujski viličasti jelenSlovenian
- 秘魯馬駝鹿Chinese
Relatives of the taruca
Other species in the same genus Hippocamelus.
South Andean deer
Hippocamelus bisulcus
CompareTaruca vs South Andean deer
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the taruca?
An adult taruca weighs 68.6 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the taruca endangered?
The taruca is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the taruca live?
The taruca has a recorded lifespan of 10.6 years.
How long is the taruca pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 213 days – 240 days.
What kind of animal is the taruca?
The taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis) belongs to the family Cervidae in the order Artiodactyla.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/taruca
“Taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/taruca.
@misc{taruca_2026,
title = {Taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/taruca},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}