One of the 12 deer on WAnimals
Mammals · Artiodactyla · Cervidae
Chinese Water Deer
Hydropotes inermis
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
The Chinese water deer is a small, shy deer of the wetlands of the lower Yangtze and the Korean peninsula. It is the only deer in the world entirely without antlers: instead the males show long, curved tusks, derived from the upper canines, which they can move slightly forwards and backwards for fighting or for feeding. It is an excellent swimmer and crosses channels and river arms without difficulty. Its native populations are heavily fragmented by intensive farming.
Weight
9 kg – 15 kg
Size
75 cm – 1 m
Lifespan
12 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Crepuscular
Active above all at dawn and dusk.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- anatomíaIt is one of the few deer with no antlers in either sex; instead the males grow long, visible upper tusks.
- It is the deer with the largest litters: it can give birth to as many as six fawns, against the single calf usual in most deer.
- The feral population in the United Kingdom, descended from escapes from Woburn and Whipsnade in the early twentieth century, today accounts for a far from negligible fraction of all the water deer in the world.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Reedbeds, marshes, rush beds and damp farmland of eastern China and Korea
- Sexual maturity
- 6 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 6.2 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 2.7 (average)
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Chinese Water Deer — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Least ConcernFallow Deer
Dama dama
Reeves' Muntjac
Muntiacus reevesi
Southern Water Vole
Arvicola sapidus
VulnerableSambar
Rusa unicolor
Pere David's Deer
Elaphurus davidianus
Roosevelt Elk
Cervus canadensis
How to help
The chinese water deer is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 1 real protected area — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about chinese water deer.
Comments
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