Where are they found?
The deer were originally found in north central China. However they are now only found in zoos and wildlife parks around the world.

What are they?
They are mammals.

What do they look like?
The deer are a tawny red colour in summer with a red underbelly and white ring around each eye. In the winter their coats go iron grey. It has wide hooves and antlers that are branched and nearly 90cm (36 in.) long.

How long do they live?
Pere David’s deer can live 20-23 years

What do they eat? Pere David’s deer are herbivores, and will eat grass, shoots, leaves, and aquatic plants. Breeding The mating season is June to August. Mature females gather in groups called harems, and males fight each other for possession of a harem. Gestation is 10 weeks. They give birth to 1 or 2 fawns. The fawns are yellowish brown with lighter spots, and can walk almost immediately after birth. They stay with the mother for 1-2 years.

Are they rare?
Pere David’s Deer is a critically endangered species. It has been extinct in the wild for 800 years. The species was exterminated during the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the century by severe flooding. Many programs are now underway to re-introduce the species back to their native land China.

Did you know?
The species was discovered by Pere David a French missionary and zoologist who noticed the breed in an Imperial Park in China. The Chinese emperor agreed to send 3 animals to Europe in the 1800s which provided a stock which flourished in captivity. After World War II breeding stock from Europe was distributed to zoos around the world and in 1960 the species was reestablished in China.

The Chinese called them ssu-pu-hsiang, which means “the four unlikes”. They thought that the deer had a stag’s antlers, a camel’s neck, a cow’s hooves, and a donkey’s tail.