Mazama gouazoubira
South American brown brocket
(Also: gray brocket)

Gray brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) range from southern Central America down through northern South America, and reach as far south as northern Argentina and Uruguay. It is one of the more widely distributed brocket deer. ()

Mazama gouazoubira is commonly found in open areas, like the thorn scrub of the Chaco and the Gran Sabana in Venezuela. These animals may be found in very dry areas, and can be found dwelling in savannas, swamplands or at the edge of secondary vegetation and transitional forests. ()

Gray brocket deer range from 850 to 1050 mm in total body length, stand around 650 mm at the shoulder. They weigh approximately of 17kg.

Gray brocket deer are slightly smaller than red brocket deer (Mazama americana). The gray brocket deer also has a straighter back, giving its silhouette a more deer-like shape.

Mazama gouazoubira has a grayish-brown to reddish-brown coat. The males have simple antlers about 70 to 100 mm in length. The undersides of the tail is white, with the pelage on the flanks being of a paler color. ()

Using cementum annuli, the oldest age class of gray brocket deer in one study was 13 years. Lifespan of the related red brocket ranges from 7 to 12 years. ()

Gray brocket deer are generally solitary animals. Rarely have they been seen in groups of three. They frequent dense cover during the day but emerge at night into the open to feed. They are nervous and shy when in captivity, unless cover is offered. A limited number of confrontations were observed in captivity when protecting home ranges. ()

Home Range

The home ranges of the female gray brockets were noted to overlap in a captive study area, whereas male home ranges were regarded as being exclusive. ()

One way of communication that has been studied in gray brocket deer is scent-marking, which would include urination, defecation, forehead rubbing and thrashing. There is a difference in frequency of scent-marking between females, as well as between males and juveniles. It was also observed that females and juveniles marked more often in the core of their home range versus the males who often marked outside their home range. ()

As is true for virtually all mammals, there are probably some other forms of communication as well. These deer probably use some vocalizations. Visual signals and postures may be important, and physcial contact signals are probably important between mother and infant, as well as between mates.

Gray brocket deer are mostly frugivorous, especially during the wet season (November to February). They focus on soft, fleshy fruits available from bush-like trees. During the dry season they feed more on the mast crops from the trees of Zyzyphus oblongifoia and Casesalpinia paraguarensis (February thru October). These trees produce dry, tough fruits, which become scarce during the wet season. In a region such as the chaco, water stress is more apparent during the extended dry season, resulting in the deer eating more cacti and bromeliad fruits, as well as succulent leaves and roots to satisfy water requirements. Gray brocket deer are also grazers and a browsers. They utilize roots, twigs, flowers, buds, bark and leaves of trees and shrubs, some seasonally and other annually. ()

Predators of the gray brocket include ocelots, jaguars and pumas, in addition to some larger raptors. Domestic dogs are also a predator. These deer are taken by local hunters for food. ()

Gray brocket deer are frugivorous and disperse seeds from a variety of trees and shrubs. To the extent that predators rely on these deer as a source of food, they may have some affect on predator poluations. ()

Gray brockets are known to do minimal crop damage. ()

In Paraguay they are mostly hunted for meat, although pelts are also known to be traded in rather high quantities in certain regions. In the Peruvian Amazon the pelts of gray brockets are not traded. In the central chaco region the meat is sold at local markets. In the Amazonian cities, the meat of the gray brocket is sold in smaller quantities than that of the red brocket. ()

In the central Chaco regions intensive hunting has resulted in a local decline. In Venezuela habitat destruction and illegal hunting may pose a threat, especially around settled areas.

In the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Community Reserve of the Peruvian Amazon the gray brocket is one of the focal species in a community based wildlife management initiative. ()

There are several common names for this species. Although in this document it was called the gray brocket deer, another name is brown brocket deer, which shows up commonly in the literature. The original spelling of the species name was M. gouazoupira, they are now recognized as M. gouazoubira.

Ten subspecies of M. gouazoubira are currently recognized. ()