DEER IN CHINA: SPECIES, CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR

DEER IN CHINA

Pere David deer

The white-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris) lives in the shrubberies, meadows of the forest in the high mountains at an altitude above 3500 meters in Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Tibet. Good at climbing over the quickstones, crags and cliffs, it often hides itself in the shrubbery on the edge of a forest. White-lipped deer live in groups and move vertically in accordance with the season. They search for food in the morning and evening, feeding mainly on grasses. Its diet also includes tender sprouts. They often rut and mate in September or August. After eight or nine months later, females gives birth to a fawn between May to July. The The white-lipped deer is unique to China. White-lipped deer are found mainly in Qinghai Province and Tibet. On China’s National List for Specially Protected Wild Animals it is listed as a threatened species. [Source: Science Museum of China See TIBETAN ANIMALS: DEER, FOXES, SNOW FROGS factsanddetails.com

White-rumped deer (Ce macneilli) lives in the high mountains at an altitude above 3500 meters in Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. In summer, it goes to the shrubberies of drifting sand while in winter moves down to take shelter from wind in the sunny meadows or a valley. White-rumped deer live in groups. Their diet mainly includes sprouts and tender leaves. They also feed on dry grass and barks in winter. They often rut and mate in September or August. After 230 to 240 days' pregnancy, a white-bumped deer often gives birth to a baby deer at a time between May to July. On China’s National List for Specially Protected Wild Animals, it is listed as a threatened species.

Mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) have a body length of 42-48 centimeters and a tail of 5-7 centimeters long and weigh 1.2-2 kilograms. They live in dense bush, grasslands, tropical forest and on hills and mountains. They eat leaves, shoots, flowers, fruit and vegetation of various kinds. They can be found in Mengla county of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan and are regarded as an endangered species in China. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net]

Many people in China raise deer on farms primarily for the traditional Chinese medicine trade. Deer antlers are cut up into slices and made into a tea with other herbs that are taken to treat a number of ailments.

Pere David's Deer

Pere David deer The Pere David's deer (milu deer) of the Yangtze River Basin has made a comeback despite having its population decimated by habitat loss and hunting. Native to China, it is a large brown 220-kilogram (500-pound) deer named after the French missionary who first described them — as well as giant pandas — to Europeans in 1865. According to Chinese folklore the animals were harnessed to heavenly chariots of some Chinese gods and the appearance of a pure white Pére David's deer foretold great events. It is said that pregnant women who looked at the deer risk giving birth to four-eyed children. Among Chinese nobility the deer was considered second only to the bear as the animal of choice among of hunters, which explains they they hung on in deer parks long after they ceased to exist in the wild. [Source: Nigel Sitwell, Smithsonian, June 1986]

The last native herd of Pere David's deer was kept in the Imperial Hunting Park, a walled-in 144-square-mile royal preserve located a few miles outside of central Beijing. The deer were dealt a severe blow in 1894 when the walls of the Imperial Hunting Park were breached by a severe flood and many deer escaped into the surrounding countryside, where they were killed by starving peasants. Six years later, foreign troops shot the remainder during the bloody Boxer Rebellion.

Fortunately a few of the deer were sold to European zoos before they were wiped out in China, and the zoos in turn sold 18 of them to the 11th Duke of Bedford, who raised the animals within a 13 mile wall on his 3,000-acre estate in southern England. By the late 1980s the duke' herd had grown large enough so that the deer could be reintroduced into China. A herd reintroduced to the 250-acre Nan Haizu Milu Park on the southwestern part of the Imperial Hunting Park grew from 20 to 55 animals in ten years. Another herd near Shanghai expanded from 39 to 50 animals. There are more than 1,500 Pére David deer worldwide, and about 600 of them live on the Duke of Bedford's estate. [National Geographic Geographica, March 1989].

Chinese Water Deer

stuffed Chinese water deer at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo

Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) are small deer that stand only 76 centimeters (30 inches) at the shoulder. Found in reedy marshes in northeastern China and Korea, they the only deer species that lacks antlers other than the musk deer. Both males and females have long, striking tusks — actually long, sharp upper canine teeth — that drop down out of their mouth, earning them the nickname vampire deer. Males use the tusks when they fight. The oldest prehistoric deer had tusks. Horns and antlers were developed later. The Chinese water deer also swims and barks.

Chinese water deer are native to the lower Yangtze Basin of east-central China and Korea. There are two subspecies: one native to China and other native to Korea. The latter is found and North and South Korea and is known as gorani The Chinese subspecies was introduced to and became wild in England and France. They have been bred extensively in captivity. Many individuals escaped from the Duke of Bedford's Woburn Park in England and have established a feral population. [Source: Demetra Katopodes, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

In their native areas of China and Korea, Chinese water deer can be found in swampy areas, open grasslands, and sometimes mountains. They prefer to live among tall reeds and rushes along rivers, and in tall grass on mountains and cultivated fields. They are good at hiding, and like to have some cover nearby where they escape and seek shelter. Although they are often found near water and will go water and swamps, they prefer drier land. When cultivated fields are cut, they sometimes seek shelter in the furrows and hollows of open fields

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Chinese water deer are listed as Vulnerable. Traditionally, they have been heavily hunted to obtain colostrum, which is used in traditional medicines. Colostrum — a kind of milk with a high protein and antibody content — is secreted for a few days after the deer gives birth. The Chinese subspecies is critically endangered in China, while the Korean subspecies is abundant. There are 700,000 in South Korea alone and thrive in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. In China, water deer are found in Zhoushan Islands in the Zhejiang (600–800), Jiangsu (500–1,000), Hubei, Henan, Anhui (500), Guangdong, Fujian, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi (1,000), Shanghai, and Guangxi.

Chinese Water Deer Characteristics and Diet

Chinese water deer range

Chinese water deer are relatively small deer, ranging in weight from 12 to 18.5 kilograms (26.4 to 40.7 pounds), with their average weight being 12.9 kilograms (28.41 pounds). The body length of adults ramges from 77.5 to 100 centimeters (2.5–3.3 feet). They stand 42 to 65 centimeters (18–22 inches) at the shoulder. Their tail is 6 to 7.5 centimeters (2.4–3 inches) long. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present. The canines of the females are much smaller than those of males. [Source: Demetra Katopodes, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The hair on Chinese water deer is generally thick and coarse. It is longest on the flanks and rump, with a maximum length of four centimeters (1.5 inches) in the winter coat. The top of the face is grayish and reddish brown, the chin and upper throat are whitish, and the back and sides are usually a uniform yellowish brown, finely striped with black. The underparts are white. Their average lifespan in the wild and captivity is around 11.5 to 12.0 years.

Both sexes lack antlers, but the upper canine teeth, especially in the males, are enlarged, forming fairly long, slightly curved tusks. These saber-like upper canines are the most conspicuous feature of the bucks. They protrude up to about 5.2 centimeters (two inches) from the upper jaw and constitute sharp, dangerous weapons. The canines on the female are only half a centimeter (0.2 inches) in length. A dark spot on the sides of the lower lip behind the upper canines makes the canines more conspicuous. A small scent gland is present on the face in front of the eyes on both sexes; this is the only known case of such glands among deer. /=\

Chinese water deer are picky eaters, feeding on herbs, forbs, and young sweet grasses, while avoiding coarser and more fibrous vegetation such mature grasses. They feed mainly on reeds, grasses, vegetables, and beets. Chinese water deer have a four chambered stomach, but the rumen pillars are poorly developed. Because of this the deer cannot digest the carbohydrates from plant material very efficiently. Thus, they select foods low in fiber but high in soluble carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Chinese Water Deer Behavior and Reproduction

Chinese water female and young

Chinese water deer rarely gather in herds; mostly they are found alone or in pairs. They are quiet and unobtrusive and conceal themselves in dense vegetation for protection from predators. Males are very territorial. They do not tolerate other males near them and defend their territories against all rivals. They do tolerate one or a few female water deer, which sometimes accompany a male when foraging for food and resting. Despite their otherwise unsociable behavior, Chinese water deer alert each other to approaching danger with brief barking calls. Their alarm cry is very shrill. When Chinese water deer are disturbed, they hump their backs and dash away from the threat in a series of leaps. Chinese water deer are good swimmers, hence their names. They have been observed swimming several kilometers and often travel back and forth between islets to get food. /=\

Chinese water deer are motile (move around as opposed to being stationary and sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. Males (bucks) regularly mark their territories by rubbing their forehead on tree trunks. Although no forehead glands are present water deer, sites that have been marked are sniffed vociferously by other deer. Other scent markings may also be left from the interdigital glands when the deer paw on the ground. Dung deposits also appear to serve as scent markings. /=\

Chinese water deer enage in seasonal breeding. In China mating occurs from November to January, and most young are born in late May and June. In the European zoos, mating usually occurs in May. The number of offspring can be up to six, maybe eight, more than are produced by any other kind of deer, but is generally two to three. The gestation period range from 170 to 210 days. On average males reach sexual maturity at five to six months, and females do so seven to eight months.

Males sometimes fight during the mating season or to defend territory. Demetra Katopodes wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Fighting bucks stand approximately parallel to one another with their heads at about the shoulder level. By swinging their heads down, the bucks attempt to wound the opponent in the nape of the neck or on the shoulders with their canines. They often succeed in tearing out strips of hair and skin, causing painful and dangerous wounds. The generally marked aggressiveness of the bucks towards one another increases even more during the mating season. If an opponent is defeated, he is pursued relentlessly and driven out of the territory. Presumably the victorious bucks would kill the defeated if the latter did not appease them through a gesture of surrender: they lay their head and neck flat on the ground, at which point the stronger animal breaks off the fight. [Source: Demetra Katopodes, Animal Diversity Web(ADW) /=]

After gestation, the female gives birth, often leaving her normal range and becoming solitary. The calf remains concealed for the first few weeks, emerging only when the mother visits to suckle it. Like many deer, the young animals have a camouflaged coat with light spots in parallel longitudinal lines. This pattern disappears with age. Lactation lasts several months, and thus the female deer are occupied with one or another aspect of reproduction for most of the year. In contrast, males contribute nothing to the rearing of their offspring. For a few weeks prior to the mating season the males compete for access to receptive females. /=\

Tufted Deer

tufted deer

Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) live in northeast Myanmar (Burma) and southern and central China in a range that extends from 24 to 35 degrees N latitude and from 98 to 122 degrees E longitude. They are found in forested regions and in rain forests in high-altitude valleys at elevation (between about 300 and 4600 meters (985 to 15,092 feet) above sea level). Their habitat is always near water. In captivity, tufted deer live to as long as 15 years; their lifespan in the wild has not been documented.[Source: Barbara Lundrigan and Rebecca Oas, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Tufted deer are the only species in the genus Elaphodus. They have not been extensively studied. Some sources list them as omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals) but the majority classify them as herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts). There are a disputed number of subspecies. Most commonly there are three listed: 1)E.c. cephalophus, which is found in northeast Myanmar (Burma) and southwest China; 2) E.c. michianus from eastern China, and 3) E.c. ichangensis from central China. It is possible that E.c. ichangensis is a hybrid of the other two subspecies.

Tufted deer are primarily herbivores but have also been classified as folivores (eat mainly leaves), frugivores (eat mainly fruits) and lignivores (eat wood). Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, wood, bark, stems, fruit, twigs, grasses and other types of vegetation. They are both browsers and grazers. They tear off vegetation to eat by pressing the lower incisors against a callous pad that takes the place of upper incisors.

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List tufted deer are listed as Near Threatened. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. As of 1993, there were estimated to be 500,000 tufted deer living in China. They are not regarded as endangered, yet deforestation for agriculture and logging threaten their habitat. There are several tufted deer living in zoos, and they have been successfully bred in captivity. Tufted deer are hunted for meat and fur throughout their range. By some estimates humans kill about 100,000 of them a year. Their primary natural predators are leopards and dholes.

Tufted Deer Characteristics, Behavior and Reproduction

Tufted deer range in weight from 17 to 50 kilograms (37.4 to 110 pounds) and range in length from 1.10 to 1.6 meters (43.3 to 63 inches). They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell and are terricolous (live on the ground), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), solitary, territorial (defend an area within the home range). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Male tufted deer are slightly larger than females. Ornamentation is different. [Source: Barbara Lundrigan and Rebecca Oas, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Tufted deer are similar in appearance to muntjac, although they are slightly larger. They stand 50 to 70 centimeters (1.6-2.3 feet) at the shoulder. Their tail is seven to 16 centimeters (2.8-6.4 inches) long. According to Animal Diversity Web: The coat is coarse and dark gray or brown, with a dark gray head and neck. The underside is white, including the underside of the tail, and the lips and the tips of their ears are also white. Tufted deer gets their name from the tuft of hair on the forehead, which can sometimes hide the small antlers of the male. These antlers are simple and spiked, growing from short bony pedicles. Tufted deer have no upper incisors, but their upper canines are long and tusklike, similar to those of the muntjac. When a tufted deer fawn is born, its coloration is similar to that of an adult tufted deer, but with two parallel rows of spots on the back, on either side of the spine. These spots fade and disappear when the young deer reaches maturity./=\

tufted deer range

Like the white-tailed deer, the tufted deer has a tail with a white underside, which it points upward while feeding. When the deer runs, it lifts its tail, exposing the underside in a similar manner to that of the white-tailed deer. Tufted deer sometimes live in pairs, but are usually solitary. They bark when alarmed, which serves as a warning to others of their species in the area. They are territorial, and do not tend to move far from their home territory. The bucks are known to fight over territory and mates, and their chief weapons are their elongated canines; their antlers are also used, but are not as dangerous. Tufted are shy during the day and more active during the evening and night.

Tufted deer are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). They engage in seasonal breeding, typically during the late fall and early winter, with young being born in early summer . During the mating season, tufted deer males bark to attract mates. The number of offspring ranges from one to 2, with the average number of offspring being one. The average gestation period is six months. Females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 18 to 24 months. Young tufted deer are nursed and cared for by their mother until independence. They are capable of standing soon after birth but until the age of six months they are dependent on their mother.

Sika Deer

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) are a forest deer found in East Asia from Siberia south through China to Vietnam and Taiwan. These deer are divided into 14 regional subspecies, of which seven are found in Japan. The largest is the ezo-jika, which lives in Hokkaido. Honshu and Kyushu-Shikoku have their own subspecies.

Sika deer have been kept in parks and farmed for centuries and have been introduced to many regions. It is one meter to 1.5 meter (3.3 to five feet) long, not including its 12-to-20 centimeter (4.7-to-7.9-inch) tail, and weigh 4.5 to 80 kilograms (9.9 to 176.2 pounds). Their brownish coat has white spots in the summer and becomes almost black in the summer, with females sometimes having vague spotting. White hairs on the rumps can flare out like chrysanthemums when the animals are excited.

Sika deer are browsers that live primarily in forests — but are often seen roaming around farmland — and feed on tree leaves, fruits, bamboo, twigs, flowers, buds, acorns and nuts. They have large eyes and a strange haunting whistle. Adults can have large stately antlers.

Sambar Deer

The sambar deer is a large deer found in India and Southeast Asia. Resembling large deer found in North America and Europe, it is two to 2.5 meters long, not including its 15 to 20 centimeter tail, and weighs 230 10 to 350 kilograms. Native to southern and eastern Asia, it is dark brown with rusty hues on its inner legs, chin and tail underside. The male has three-point antlers than can reach 1.2 meters in length. Both sex have a neck mane that is thicker on males. Solitary except for males with young, they eat wide variety of vegetation — mostly grasses, leaves and fruit — and are mostly nocturnal.

ranger of sambar deer

The sambar deer coat is hispid and long. Males keep their large antlers for a few years between shedding them. Sambar deer are shy, skittish creatures that flee into the depths of the forest at the slightest sound. During the mating season stags acquire harems which they defend vigorously. In central and southern India females give birth in May or early June bit in other parts of Asia the reproductive cycle may be different. After a six-month gestation period one, sometimes two, fawns are born and they are weaned when they are a few months old.

In China, sambar (Cervus nuicolor) have a body length of 1.8- two meters and a tail length of 24 centimeters. Females weigh about 120 kilograms, males about 180 kilograms. They can be found in broad-leaved forests, coniferous woods, bush lands, grass slopes and forests of low and middle-height mountains. They eat tree leaves, grass, flowers, fruit and other kinds of vegetation. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net]

In China, sambar are mainly distributed in the broadleaved forest or coniferous forest with an altitude of 1400 to 3500 meters. Arboreal in its habits, sambars often hide themselves in the thick woods and sleep at day time. Living solitarily or in pairs, they only form in groups in mating season. Acute and agile, they are good at runners. Its diet consists of green grass and tree leaves. The mating season of the sambar is between April and June. After about six months' pregnancy, a female sambar generally gives birth to one young. Sambar can be found in mountain areas all over Southern China and the Yangtze basin and are regarded as a threatened but not endangered species. In Yunnan and Hainan Island, people have raised sambars for quite a long time.

Eld's Deer

Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii) are medium-sized deer with a regal and graceful physique. Their legs are thin and long with a long body, large head and thin neck. The rough and course coat turns from reddish brown in summer to dark brown in winter. They are also known as brow-antlered deer and thamin. They were previously considered a member of the genus Cervus as Cervus eldi or Cervus eldii. Their lifespan in captivity is as high as 19 years. /=\

Reeves's muntjac

Eld's deer are indigenous to Southeast Asia. There are three sub-species: 1) sangai (Rucervus eldii eldii), in India (discovered in the Manipur Valley of India in 1838 by Lieutenant Percy Eld); 2) Burmese brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii thamin), in Myanmar, westernmost Thailand; and 3) Siamese Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii siamensis), in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. Burmese brow-antlered deer is now restricted to Myanmar. Siamese Eld’s deer is found throughout Hainan island. Some individuals of Eld’s deer live as far north as 48°N.

The main habitat for Eld's deer is an indaing forest — usually dominated by Dipterocarpus tuberculatus trees. Indaing refers to sandy, flat terrain that floods seasonally. The range of Eld's deer also includes monsoonal forest, savannas, grasslands, chaparral and scrub forests Burmese brow-antlered deer is found in a variety of habitats, ranging from dry scrub and thorn forest to open deciduous forest. [Source: Emily Worrel, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Muntjacs

Muntjac — also called barking deer and rib-faced deer — are not much larger than small dogs. They are reddish brown in color and use their small size to stay concealed in the grass. They stand about 80 centimeters (30 inches) at the shoulder, have two-tined antlers that are only about 10 centimeters (four inches) long, and make a barking noise like a dog when they get exited. There are 14 species of muntjac, all native to South and Southeast Asia.

Muntjac deer (Muntiacus) are usually solitary. They are cautious and sensitive. They often come out in the night, in early morning, or at dusk. During the daytime, they usually hide in bushes to take rests and bark when they are frightened. Barking deer have a fixed range. No matter how far away they are chased from a place, they always return to their original territory. Barking deer reproduce easily and can mate all the year round. Their gestation period is about 210 days. They give birth to one young at a time. Barking deer reach sexual maturity at the age of one year. Muntjacs live up to 17 years in the wild and 23.2 years in captivity.

Muntjacs belong to the genus Muntiacus in th family Cervidae and subfamily Cervinae. The name "muntjak," comes from the native name for small deer in the Sundanese language. Many muntjacs have a set of elongated canine teeth that protrude below their upper lip and are used for intraspecies combat. Because of the wide karyotypic (chromosome set) range of muntjacs — from 2n=6 (M. muntjak) to 2n=46 (M. reevesi) — muntjacs are of interest to scientists. M. muntjak and M. reevesi can mate and produce viable but sterile offspring, despite the strong karyotypic differences. [Source: Petey Maxwell, Animal Diversity Web (ADW)]

Southern Red Muntjacs (Indian Muntjacs, Muntiacus muntjak) have a body length of one meter and a tail length of 17-21 centimeters and weigh 25-30 kilograms. Their preferred habitats are forests and bushes in low altitude mountains and hills. They eat branches, leaves, flowers, fruit, various kinds of f vegetation and crops. Their skin has traditionally been a source of leather in China. For this reason they were widely hunted in South China. In China they can be found in Southeast, South and Southwest China and are not considered threatened or endangered. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net.cn]

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Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2025