Musk deer: what is this magical musk that makes bad people torment the beast? (11 photos)

The musk deer looks like a cute little vampire deer, but it won't suck your blood. Instead, it will take all your money and give you only a faint, pleasant aroma that gradually evaporates.





The owner of a huge fortune, the existence of which he doesn't even suspect.

There's a completely unhealthy hype surrounding this tiny, wild ungulate, weighing only 10-17 kilograms. In all countries where musk deer live, strict penalties have been introduced for their killing and smuggling, and states are desperately learning to breed these animals in captivity, investing insane amounts of money. More than $25 million has already been invested in musk deer breeding, and will continue to be invested until at least 2029. And all this is to produce... what?



What? We have nothing to do with it, we could at least give them a percentage!

Even a large adult musk deer is just a couple of kilos of meat, a few thin bones, and a low-quality skin—warm, waterproof, but thin and rough to the touch. The tusks are also useless, as they're just ordinary teeth, albeit very large ones. Males use them to attract females and fight each other, but they don't have any unique properties. The only valuable thing about the musk deer is its musk. But its price can easily outweigh all the costs.





Why does the musk deer wear tusks while everyone else uses horns? Because it's a retrograde. Thirty million years ago, the ancestors of musk deer, deer, and bovids were all small and fanged. They invented horns somewhat later, after which they abandoned their enormous tusks. Everything except musk deer.

Just 1 gram of this dark, pungent-smelling liquid costs up to $50, which is more expensive than any other animal product. And since the microdeer themselves use it to mark their territory during mating season, up to 30 grams of musk can be squeezed from the musk glands of a single male. And that's a small fortune.



Under normal conditions, musk spoils quickly, so it is stored at -15°C, at which point it turns into crisp brown ice.

One of the reasons musk deer musk is so expensive is because it's a virtually perfect scent fixative. When added to perfume, it transforms a typical eau de toilette into a premium perfume whose scent can last for up to 20 hours. Furthermore, it imparts a sharp, powerful scent that's impossible to replicate in a laboratory using synthetic substances. And that's worth a lot.



Musk perfume. $216 for 100 ml excluding shipping. Will you buy it?

However, this is just a drop in the ocean of musk consumption; most people simply eat it. The Chinese and Indians believe that musk-based medicines strengthen the immune system, increase physical endurance, and, of course, restore lost libido. That's why these countries produce up to 50 kilograms of musk each year, which is packaged in tablets and drops.



Musk deer live from Siberia all the way to Vietnam. But they are very rare everywhere. The photo shows a Vietnamese musk deer.

But is there any real benefit? It's a highly controversial issue. There are few studies on this topic, but they do show that the physical endurance of rats treated with the drug increases by 10-20% without any obvious side effects. However, these figures conceal significant pitfalls.



It looks like animal cruelty, but in reality, it's a humane procedure. Specialists extract musk without removing the glands. Otherwise, the musk deer would be disposable.

First of all, it's worth noting that rats are not people. Time and again, medications that work wonders on rodents have proven completely useless or even dangerous for humans. But even if musk does work, to get the effect, you'd have to rub 3 to 30 grams of pure musk into your mucous membranes daily. That's an incredible investment! And the effect will completely disappear if you spend a fortune on medication and stop taking it for even a week. It sounds like some kind of drug for the rich. But it's precisely these kinds of sums of money that incentivize people across Asia to repeatedly try to domesticate musk deer. Or else, they're thrown on the wrong side of the law, turning people into smugglers and poachers. Some good photos:



This muscular musk deer has managed to bulk up for summer.



Himalayan musk deer.



A resting musk deer.



Our Siberian musk deer.