[3] It has sandy brown fur over most of its body, with white patches on the underside of its head, neck, tail, and genital region, and on the inner surface of its fore-legs.

[3] Tarucas are found only in the Andes mountains, from central Peru, through Bolivia and extreme north-eastern Chile, and into northern Argentina.

Tarucas are mainly found in rocky slopes, queñual forests and at puna grasslands by the side of glaciar lakes at high altitude mountain terrains.

Despite living in grasslands, the taruca feeds mainly on the local bushes, shrubs, and herbs for much of the year, but supplements this diet with grasses during the rainy season.

[4] During the breeding season, males may compete with one another, displaying threatening behaviour by raising their forelegs one at a time and pointing their antlers towards one another.

Males drop their antlers immediately after the breeding season finishes, in September, with the new pair beginning to grow in December, and losing the velvet by February.

The mother leaves the group in order to give birth, and keeps the fawn hidden behind rocky outcrops for the first month of life.