Pere David's deer pictures and facts

Pere David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) only is known now in captivity, in the wild they were extinct in the 19th century. However, it has been reintroduced in Nan Haizi Milu Park, Beijing and Dafeng Reserve, Jiangsu Province in the 1980's. After the publication of his discovery, by father Armand David, working as a French missionary in China, the animals soon were extinct in the wild. The last remaining herd was in a preserve of the emperor and was eaten by Western and Japanese troops during the Boxer Rebellion. Before that, a small number of Père David's Deer was exported to England, were they were bred further. All living Pere David's deer come from this single herd. It is now classified as 'critically endangered'. The Père David's Deer is very fond of water, unlike other deer species... The Chinese gave it the name "sze pu shiang" which means "none of the four", as it has a tail of a donkey, a neck like a camel, antlers of a deer, and hooves of a cow, but it doesn't look like any of them...

Image licensed under GFDL