Père David's deer

This deer lives in China.

It likes to eat grass and plants in the water. It is a good swimmer.

Some people say it looks like many animals. It has the horns of a deer. It has the neck of a camel.

It also has the hooves of a cow. Its tail looks like a donkey tail.

Long ago, these deer were almost gone. People kept them in zoos to stay safe.

Now, many deer live in the wild again. We are helping them grow in number.

Père David's deer live in China.

They like to eat grass and plants in the water. These deer are good swimmers. They can stand in water up to their shoulders.

Some people call them "four not alike." This is because they look like a mix of animals. They have the antlers of a deer. They have the neck of a camel. They also have the hooves of a cow and the tail of a donkey.

These deer almost disappeared from the wild. By 1939, the last wild deer were gone. But people in Europe helped save them. A man named Herbrand Russell kept a herd at his home. All the deer alive today come from his herd.

In 1985, deer were sent back to China. This was to help them live in the wild again. Now, thousands of these deer live in China. Some live in nature reserves.

This helps the species stay safe and grow.

Père David's deer are a very special kind of deer. They come from the river valleys in China.

These animals are also called milu or elaphure. They are the only living members of their group. They spend a lot of time in the water. This makes them semiaquatic, which means they live partly on land and partly in water. They are great swimmers. They can stand in water as deep as their shoulders.

To eat, they graze on grass. In the summer, they also eat plants that grow in the water.

These deer look very unique. Some people call them "four not alike." This name comes from how they look like a mix of different animals. They have the antlers of a deer. They have the neck of a camel. They also have the hooves of a cow and the tail of a donkey.

Their bodies can change with the seasons too. In the summer, their coats are a reddish tan color. In the winter, their hair becomes thicker and turns a dull gray. This helps them stay warm. Their large, spreading hooves even make clicking sounds when they move.

Scientists first learned about these deer in 1866. A French missionary named Armand David found them in China. He sent parts of the deer to Paris. A biologist named Alphonse Milne-Edwards then gave them their official scientific name. He used Greek words that mean "stag" and "tail."

The deer almost disappeared from the wild in the late 1800s. Hunting and changes to the land made their numbers very small. By 1939, the last wild deer in China had been killed. It was a very sad time for the species.

Luckily, people worked hard to save them. A British nobleman named Herbrand Russell helped a lot. He got a few deer from the Berlin Zoo. He started a large herd at his home, Woburn Abbey.

Every Père David's deer alive today comes from that one herd. Later, his great-grandson Robin Russell helped return them to China. In 1985, he gave several dozen deer to the Chinese government. This helped the deer start living in the wild again.

Today, the population is growing again. As of 2020, about 2,825 deer lived in the wild in China. There are also 7,380 more deer living in nature reserves.

These deer are now under special protection in China. They are much safer than they were in the past. Learning about them helps us understand how important it is to protect animals. We can see how one small herd can help an entire species return home.

The Père David's deer, known scientifically as *Elaphurus davidianus*, is a unique species of deer native to the subtropical river valleys of China. This species is the only living member of its genus, *Elaphurus*. Some scientists even suggest it should be classified as a subgenus of *Cervus*. These deer are semiaquatic, meaning they are well-adapted to living in both land and water environments. They are excellent swimmers and often stand in water that reaches up to their shoulders. Their diet consists mainly of grass, though they supplement this with aquatic plants during the summer months.

The physical appearance of the Père David's deer is quite striking and unusual for a deer. An adult can reach a head-and-body length of up to 2.5 meters and stands about 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder. They weigh between 160 and 230 kilograms. Their antlers are particularly distinct because the long tines point backward while the main beam grows almost straight up. These deer may grow two pairs of antlers per year. The larger summer set is dropped in November after the rutting season. If a second set grows, it is fully mature by January and falls off shortly after.

Because of these unique features, the deer has a fascinating informal name in China: *sibuxiang*. This name translates to "four not alike." This refers to the idea that the animal possesses parts of four different creatures. Different traditions suggest different combinations, but common descriptions include the antlers of a deer, the neck of a camel, the hooves of a cow, and the tail of a donkey.

This strange appearance even allowed the animal to enter Chinese mythology. In the classical work *Investiture of the Gods*, the deer is described as the mount for the character Jiang Ziya.

The history of the species is a story of near-extinction and careful recovery. Fossil records show the deer appeared during the Pleistocene period and lived across Manchuria. During the Holocene period, their range shifted to the wetlands of southern China. However, hunting and land reclamation caused their numbers to crash. By 1939, the last wild individuals had been killed. The species was first introduced to Western science in 1866 by Armand David, a French missionary. He sent specimens to Paris, where biologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards named the species.

Conservation efforts centered around a single, vital herd in England. In the early 20th century, Herbrand Russell, the 11th Duke of Bedford, acquired deer from the Berlin Zoo. He established a large breeding herd at his estate, Woburn Abbey. Remarkably, every Père David's deer alive today is a descendant of that original Woburn Abbey herd. In the 1980s, the 14th Duke of Bedford, Robin Russell, began the process of reintroduction. He donated several dozen deer to the Chinese government to help the species return to its ancestral home.

Today, the population is showing signs of successful recovery. As of 2020, there were an estimated 2,825 individuals living in the wild in China. An additional 7,380 deer live in various Chinese nature reserves. Because of these efforts, the total population has exceeded 8,000 animals. The species is now under first-class state protection in China to ensure its continued survival. This recovery demonstrates how controlled breeding and international cooperation can prevent the total loss of a species.

Understanding the biology of these deer also provides insight into animal behavior and stress. Research has shown that captive deer require large, open spaces to thrive. When kept in small, crowded areas, the deer experience high levels of stress and social aggression. High concentrations of fecal matter in small enclosures can also lead to different behavioral patterns compared to wild deer. In captivity, they may stand for longer periods due to human presence and spend less time resting.

These findings help scientists manage nature reserves and zoos more effectively for the well-being of the animals.