The Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis) is superficially more similar to a musk deer Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and—of particular economic importance to humans—a than a true deer Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer. Male (and a few female) deer of all species (except the Chinese Water deer who only (Cervidae - order Artiodactyla) but it is classified as a cervid despite having tusks (downward-pointing canine teeth) instead of antlers and other anatomical anomalies. These unique characteristics have caused it to be classified in its own genus (Hydropotes) and its own subfamily (Hydropotinae). Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus).
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Habitat & Distribution
Water deer are indigenous to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River The name Yangtze River, as well as other similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River and Yangtze Kiang, is derived from Yangzi Jiang (simplified Chinese: 扬 , coastal Jiangsu Jiangsu (simplified Chinese: 江苏; traditional Chinese: 江蘇; pinyin: Jiāngsū; Wade–Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (now Nanjing), and su, for the city of Suzhou. The province (Yancheng Coastal Wetlands), and islands of Zhejiang Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to "Zhe" (浙) of east-central China, and in Korea, where the demilitarized zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 250 kilometres has provided a protected habitat for a large number. They frequent the tall reeds, rushes along rivers, and in tall grass on mountains and cultivated fields as well as swampy regions and open grasslands. They have also been known to inhabit swamps, and when the cultivated fields that they occupied are cut, they may be found lying in the furrows and hollows of the open field.
A proficient swimmer, water deer can also swim several miles to make use of river islands.
Britain
Chinese Water Deer were first introduced into Great Britain Great Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.8 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of in the 1870s and were kept in the London Zoo London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of 755 species of animals, with 15,104 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the. In 1896, they were transferred to Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park, Bedfordshire It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east, with further additions being imported and added to the stock. In 1929 and 1930, 32 deer were transferred from Woburn to Whipsnade, also in Bedfordshire, and released into the park. It is thought that the current Chinese Water Deer population at Whipsnade is over 600 whilst at Woburn it is probably in the region of 250 plus.
The present introduced population derives from a number of deliberate releases; the majority, however, is descended from escapees. The majority of the wild Chinese Water Deer population still resides in close proximity to Woburn Abbey. It appears that the deer’s strong preference for a particular habitat – tall reed and grass areas in rich alluvial deltas - has restricted its potential to colonize further afield. The main area of distribution is from Woburn, east into Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlements in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate and Balbridie, Norfolk Of the 34 non-metropolitan English counties, Norfolk is the seventh most populous, with a population of 850,800 . However, as a largely rural county it has a low population density, 155 people per square kilometre (or 401 per square mile.) Norfolk has about one-thirtieth the population density of Central London, the tenth lowest density county in and Suffolk The county is low-lying with few hills, and is largely wetland habitat and arable land with the wetlands of The Broads in the North. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and south towards Whipsnade. There have been small colonies reported in other areas.
The British Deer Society coordinated a survey of wild deer in the UK between 2005 and 2007 and noted Chinese Water Deer as "notably increasing its range" since the last census in 2000. [1]
France
There are currently small, highly localized feral populations.
Physical Attributes
| Body Length | Shoulder Height | Tail Length | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75-100 cm | 45-55 cm | 6-7.5 cm | 9-14 kg |
| 2.5-3.3 ft | 18-22 in | 2.4-3 in | 20-31 lbs |
The water deer has narrow pectoral and pelvic girdles, long legs, and a long, graceful neck. The powerful hind legs are longer than the front legs, so that the haunches are carried higher than the shoulders. They run with rabbit-like jumps. In the groin of each leg is an inguinal gland used for scent marking; this deer is the only member of the Cervidae Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Male deer of all species but the Chinese Water deer and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope; these are in the same order as deer and may to possess such glands. The short tail is no more than 5-10 cm / 1.9–3.8 in. in length and is almost invisible, except when it is held raised by the male during the rut. The ears are short and very rounded, and both sexes lack antlers.
The coat is an overall golden brown color, and may be interspersed with black hairs, while the undersides are white. The strongly tapered face is reddish brown or gray in color, and the chin and upper throat are cream colored. The hair is longest on the flanks and rump. In the fall, the summer coat is gradually replaced by a thicker, coarse-haired winter coat that varies from light brown to grayish brown. Neither the head nor the tail poles are well differentiated as in gregarious deer; consequently, this deer's coat is little differentiated.
Young are born dark brown with white stripes and spots along their upper torso.
Tusks
A stuffed specimen of H. inermis illustrating its tusks at the National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year.The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and—of particular economic importance to humans—a. The canines are fairly large in the bucks, ranging in length from 5.5 cm / 2.1 in. on average to as long as 8 cm / 3.2 in. Does, in comparison, have tiny canines that are on an average of 0.5 cm / 0.2 in. in length.
The teeth usually erupt in the autumn of the deer’s first year at approximately 6-7 months of age. By early spring the recently-erupted tusks reach approximately 50% of their final length. As the tusks develop, the root remains open until the deer is about eighteen months to two years old. When fully grown, only about 60% of the tusk is visible below the gum.
At the end of the male's first winter, his canines will be about half their full size; final length is reached after about 18 months. These canines are held loosely in their sockets, with their movement controlled by facial muscles. The buck can draw them backwards out of the way when eating. In aggressive encounters, he thrusts his canines out and draws in his lower lip to pull his teeth closer together. He then presents an impressive two-pronged weapon to rival males.
Behavior
Apart from during the rutting season The rut is the mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, elk, moose, caribou, ibex, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope, water deer are solitary animals, and males are highly territorial. Each buck marks out his territory with urine and faeces. Sometimes a small pit is dug and it is possible that in digging, the male releases scent from the interdigital glands on its feet. The male also scent-marks by holding a thin tree in his mouth behind the upper canines and rubbing his pre-orbital glands against it. Males may also bite off vegetation to delineate territorial boundaries.
Confrontations between males begin with the animals walking slowly and stiffly towards each other, before turning to walk in parallel 10-20 m / 32–64 ft. apart, to assess one another. At this point, one male may succeed in chasing off his rival, making clicking noises during the pursuit. However, if the conflict is not resolved at the early stage, the bucks will fight. Each would try to wound the other on the head, shoulders, or back, by stabbing or tearing with his upper canines. The fight is ended by the loser, who either lays his head and neck flat on the ground, or turns tail and is chased out of the territory. Numerous long scars and torn ears seen on males indicate that fighting is frequent. The fights are seldom fatal but may leave the loser considerably debilitated. Tufts of hair are most commonly found on the ground in November and December, showing that encounters are heavily concentrated around the rut.
Females do not seem to be territorial outside the breeding season and can be seen in small groups, although individual deer do not appear to be associated; they will disperse separately at any sign of danger. Females show aggression towards each other immediately before and after the birth of their young and will chase other females from their birth territories.
Communication
Water deer are capable of emitting a number of sounds. The main call is a bark and this has more of a growl tone when compared with the sharper yap of a Muntjac Muntjac, also known as Barking Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15-35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France and Germany.[citation needed]. The bark is used as an alarm and water deer will bark repeatedly at people and at each other for reasons unknown. If challenged during the rut, a buck will emit a clicking sound. It is uncertain how this unique sound is generated, although it is possibly by using its molar teeth. During the rut a buck following a doe will make a weak whistle or squeak. The does emit a soft pheep to call to their fawns, whilst an injured deer will emit a screaming wail.
Reproduction
| Gestation Period | Young per Birth | Sexual Maturity | Life Span |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180-210 days | 1-7 | Does: 7-8 months | 10-12 years |
| Commonly 2-5 | Bucks: 5-6 months |
During the annual rut in November and December, the male will seek out and follow females, giving soft squeaking contact calls and checking for signs of estrus by lowering his neck and rotating his head with ears flapping. Scent plays an important part in courtship, with both animals sniffing each other. Mating among water deer is polygynous, with most females being mated inside the buck's own territory. After repeated mountings, copulation is brief.
Water deer have been known to produce up to seven young, but two to three is normal for this species, the most prolific of all deer. The doe often gives birth to her spotted young in the open, but they are quickly taken to concealing vegetation, where they will remain most of the time for up to a month. During these first few weeks, fawns come out to play. Once driven from the natal territory in late summer, young deer sometimes continue to associate with each other, later separating to begin their solitary existence.
References
- ^ Harris, R.B. & Duckworth, J.W. (2008). Hydropotes inermis. In: IUCN The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1948, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species. A series of Regional Red Lists 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 8 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of vulnerable.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hydropotes inermis |
Categories: IUCN Red List vulnerable species Categories: Species by IUCN Red List category | Vulnerable species
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