Pere David's Deer
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Pere David's deer is named after a Frenchman, Pere Armand David. He shipped several of the deer from China to Europe in the late nineteenth century and saved the species from extinction. Pere David's deer is one of the largest species of deer. The male's antlers, which may be shed twice a year, are unusual. Their points sweep backward, while the antlers of other species either sweep forward or point straight up. Today this rare animal can be seen only in zoos and wildlife parks.
Origins: The last wild specimens of this deer died out centuries ago, but small herds were kept by the Chinese emperors in hunting parks. In 1865 the French missionary Pere Armand David discovered the only surviving herd in the walled imperial hunting park just outside beijing. With the help of foreign diplomats, Pere David arranged for live specimens to be sent to several European zoos before they left China in 1874. By the 1920's these animals were the only surveying members of the species. But they did not breed successfully until the duke of Bedford collected the 18 survivors together in one herd at Woburn Abbey, a wildlife park in England.
The conditions there suited the deer, and by 1939 the herd had grown to over 250. During World War II some of the herd were transferred to England's Whipsnade Zoo to reduce the risk of extinction by bombing or disease. Calves have since bred sent to zoos around the world. The present population is about 600 world wide.
Breeding: The mating season, from june to August, is called the rut. Mature Females gather in a group called a harem, which is dominated by a mature male, or stag. Ownership of a harem is often disputed among several stags and is settles by contests, both mock and real. When fighting in earnest, adult males use their antlers and teeth as weapons and may stand on their hind legs to box with their hooves. Possession of the harem may change several times during the mating season. After a gestation period of about 36 weeks, the female gives birth to one or two fawns, which are able to stand up and walk almost from birth. They are nursed by their mother for six or seven weeks and remain with her for one to two years.
Habits: Male, female and young Pere David's deer live together in herds, but the males avoid the females for two months before and after the rut. Unlike many other species of deer, Pere David's deer liked water. It is believed that it originally lived in the swamplands of eastern China, where it became used to watery conditions. It is a strong swimmer and spends long periods standing shoulder deep water during warm weather. The male deer likes to wallow in wet mud at the edges of lakes and ponds, using it hooves to flick mud and grass onto its back.
Food & Feeding: Pere David's deer is mainly a grazing animal, preferring lush grassland. It will also eat young , tender shoots and leaves, depending on the plants that are available. In the summer it will eat green water plants.
Key Facts: Sizes
Height to shoulder: Male, almost 4 ft.
Female smaller.
Weight: Male, up to 540 lbs. Females about
300 lbs.
Antlers: Up to 2 1/2 ft long on male only.
Breeding: Sexual Maturity: Female, 1 -
2 years, Male, 3 to 4 years
Mating: June to August
Gestation: About 36 weeks
No. of Young: 1 to 2
Lifestyle:
Habit: Social, lives in herds. Non dominant
stags gather in groups during mating season.
Diet: Primarily grass; also leaves and
water plants.
Lifespan: About 20 years
Related Species: Related to many other
species of deer, including the red deer and the fallow deer.
Distribution: Formally found in the swampy
plains of eastern China, Pere David's Deer is now found only in captivity
in wildlife parks and zoos throughout the world.
Conservation: There are now more than
600 individual deer in captivity throughout the world, and the species
is no longer in dagger of extinction.
Features of Pere David's Deer:
Body: Large, with a rump shaped
like a donkeys and a long, black tipped tail. Coat is brownish red in summer
and grayish tan in the winter.
Female: Does not have antlers like the
females of most other species of deer. Her neck is more slender than the
males.
Fawn: Able to stand and walk soon after
birth. Coat is either beige or a yellowish brown with lighter spots.
Antlers: Mature male may have two sets.
A large summer pair is shed in November and replaced by a smaller pair,
shed in late January (right inset).
Male: Slightly larger than the female
but has the same features, except for the antlers. Its tail is unusually
long and tasseled. Its head is long and has small, pointed ears.
Did you know?
In 1957 four calves from the London Zoo traveled
with their keeper to the Beijing Zoo to begin a herd in the deer's native
land.
Pere David's deer may have become extinct in
the wild as early as the second century B.C. when its natural swampy habitat
became a rice growing area.
The Chinese called Pere David's deer ssu-pu-hsiang
("the four unlike") because they thought it had a stag's antlers, a a camel's
neck, a cow's hooves, and a donkey's tail.
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