This is a deer mouse or Chevrotain, small, secretive creatures now found only in the tropical forests of Africa, India, Sri Lanka, and South-east Asia.

Chevrotains are shy, solitary, evening- and night-active vegetarians. They stand about 30centimetres (12 inches) at the shoulder and characteristically seem to walk on the hoof tips of their slender legs. The fur is reddish brown with spots and stripes of paler colour or white; the underside is pale. The males have small, curved tusks protruding downward out of the mouth.