Wildlife Wednesday: Père David's Deer

There are many cases of something amazing happening in nature but rarely do they include people and the saving of a species. That is exactly what happened with the Père David's deer though. These cervids are interesting creatures that the Chinese and Japanese names for these deer translates as "four unlikes" because they are described as having "the hoofs of a cow but not a cow, the neck of a camel but not a camel,antlers of a deer but not a deer, the tail of a donkey but not a donkey." From that description and these pictures maybe you can understand what it looks like.

The Père David's deer is a funny looking deer. It has moderately long tail unlike many other deer and the antlers of the male branch toward the back but not in a way like elk or caribou do. The males may also grow two sets of antlers a year which is unique. These deer have a reddish-brown color in the summer and have a thick gray coat in the winter. They are found of water unlike most deer and like to swim. They also like to eat plants that are found in water which leads ecologists to believe they were found in swampy areas. Males can weigh 500 pounds and stand four feet at the shoulder. They have a lifespan greater than eighteen years

The Père David's deer were native to China where they are now extinct in the wild. The story of this species is fascinating. They used to roam throughout subtropical China but by the 1860's the animal was close to extinction. The emperor of China had one of the last viable populations in a walled and guarded preserve. A French priest, Pere David, decided he needed to see the deer but no one was allowed to look into the preserve. He managed to convince the guards to let him have one look. When he looked a herd of the deer walked into sight and he was astonished. He was determined to save the species and worked to have some of the animals brought to European zoos. The animals in the preserve were killed shortly afterwards when a flood came through and some drowned and those that escaped were eaten by the peasants who had no food. Then there was a revolt and troops went into the gardens and ate the deer. Pere David decided to gather up all the animals in Europe and moved them to Woburn Abbey in England. They remained here through World War I and then distributed to other places during World War II. They have since continued to breed and populations are kept in England and Texas. Ranches in Texas hold some of the largest populations of Père David's deer and have been critical in providing habitat for these animals.

Conservation efforts are looking to include a diversified breeding program for these animals because the lack of genetic diversity will make them more prone to disease and other ailments. Conservationists are skeptical that there is enough of their native habitat to establish wild populations in China. Currently there are about 2,000 deer in parks and reserves in China in 53 herds. There are many more than that found around the globe and numbers are increasing. The ranching of these animals has allowed their species to continue, even though in not the same manner as they once were.
Through raising these deer in captivity a species was saved and that is important. I hope one day to own a herd of these fascinating deer and participate in the conservation effort by breeding them well and donating some to be released in China.

Articles

IUCN Redlist

Ultimate Ungulate Guide (I hate the word ungulate also not a big fan of cetartiodactyla)

Saved By Chance

All About Exotics

Pictures

Stag in Water

Two Stags

Fawn