Visayan spotted deer
Rusa alfredi (P. L. Sclater, 1870)
The visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi) is a species in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. Recorded adults weigh 46.5 kg to 138 kg and live up to 21.1 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
Quick facts about the visayan spotted deer
- Weight
- 46.5 kg – 138 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 26.4 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 250 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 19.5 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the visayan spotted deer live?
Not recorded
What is the visayan spotted deer?
The Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi), also known as the Visayan deer, the Philippine spotted deer or Prince Alfred's deer, is a small, endangered, primarily nocturnal species of deer found in the rainforests of the Visayan Islands of Panay and Negros. It once was found across other islands, such as Cebu, Guimaras, Leyte, Masbate, and Samar. It is one of three endemic deer species found in the Philippines, although it was not recognized as a separate species until 1983. An estimated 2,500 mature individuals survived worldwide in 1996, according to the IUCN; today's surviving wild number is uncertain. The diet of the deer, which consists of a variety of different types of grasses, leaves, and buds within the forest, is the primary indicator of its habitat. Since 1991, the range of the species has severely decreased and is now almost co-extensive with that of the Visayan warty pig.
In April 2009, an expedition team of British and Filipino mountaineers and scientists discovered evidence of two separate groups of deer in the North Negros Natural Park. These signs (scat and feeding sites) were believed to be the first scientific evidence of the deer's activity for over 25 years. It is estimated that 300 animals survive on the island of Negros. Conservation efforts are currently underway, with the intention of preserving the remaining population, but have been poorly funded and supported.
In 2012, the Negros Interior Biodiversity Expedition used camera traps in the centre of the North Negros Natural Park to take the first photos of the species in the wild.
From the Wikipedia article “Visayan spotted deer” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visayan_spotted_deer&oldid=1384764518), 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 visayan spotted deer endangered?
The visayan spotted deer is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very 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 Endangered species.
How is the visayan spotted deer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCervidae
- genusRusa
- SpeciesRusa alfredi (P. L. Sclater, 1870)
Synonyms Cervus alfredi
Other names and names in other languages (27)
- Philippine spotted deerEnglish
- Phillipine spotted deerEnglish
- Phillipine spotted deerEnglish
- Prince Alfred's deerEnglish
- Prince Alfred’s spotted deerEnglish
- Prince Alfred’s spotted deerEnglish
- أيل بيسايا مرقطArabic
- أيل فلبيني مرقطArabic
- ايل الامير ال فريدArabic
- sambar skvrnitýCzech
- Prinz-Alfred-HirschGerman
- Samabar Manchado FilipinoSpanish
- Ciervo Moteado de FilipinasSpanish
- TähniksambarEstonian
- panaynkaurisFinnish
- VisayanhirviFinnish
- Cerf d'AlfredFrench
- Alfréd-szarvasHungarian
- アルフレッドサンバーJapanese
- 비사야얼룩사슴Korean
- 필리핀얼룩사슴Korean
- VisayahjortNorwegian Bokmål
- Prins AlfredhertDutch
- sambar kropkowanyPolish
- Sambar-manchadoPortuguese
- Филиппинский пятнистый оленьRussian
- 阿氏鹿Chinese
Relatives of the visayan spotted deer
Other species in the same genus Rusa.
Sambar deer
Rusa unicolor
Javan rusa
Rusa timorensis
Philippine deer
Rusa marianna
CompareVisayan spotted deer vs Sambar deerVisayan spotted deer vs Javan rusaVisayan spotted deer vs Philippine deer
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the visayan spotted deer?
An adult visayan spotted deer weighs 46.5 kg – 138 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the visayan spotted deer endangered?
The visayan spotted deer is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the visayan spotted deer live?
The visayan spotted deer has a recorded lifespan of 21.1 years.
How long is the visayan spotted deer pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 250 days.
What kind of animal is the visayan spotted deer?
The visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi) 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). Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/visayan-spotted-deer
“Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/visayan-spotted-deer.
@misc{visayan_spotted_deer_2026,
title = {Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/visayan-spotted-deer},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}