The deer of David is almost on the verge of extinction, at present it survives only in captivity. This animal is named after the researcher-zoologist Arman David, who watched the last remaining Chinese herd and moved society to an active position in preserving this population, the second name of which is Milu.
What does the name Si-pu-xiang mean?
The Chinese call this mammal "Si-pu-xiang, " which means "not one in four." This strange name refers to what the deer of David looks like. The appearance of a deer resembles a mixture of four animals: the hooves are like a cow, but not a cow, the neck is like a camel, but not a camel, the antlers of a deer, but not a deer, a donkey’s tail, but not a donkey.
The head of the animal is thin and elongated with small sharp ears and large eyes. Unique among deer, this species has horns with the main branching of the anterior segment extending in the opposite direction. In summer, its color becomes reddish, in winter - gray, there is a small scruff, and along the back an oblong dark strip. If the horned representatives are spotted with pale patches, then in front of us is a young deer of David (photo below). They look very moving.
Description of the deer David
The body is 180-190 cm long, the shoulder height is 120 cm, the tail length is 50 cm, and the weight is 135 kg.
The kingdom is animals, the type is chordates, the class is mammals, the order is artiodactyls, the suborder is ruminants, the family is deer, the genus is the deer of David.
This species has relatives close in description:
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southern red munchak (Muntiacus muntjak);
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Peruvian deer (Andean deer antisensis);
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southern pudu.
Breeding
Since the deer of David is practically not found in the wild, observations of its behavior are made when kept in captivity. This species is social and lives in large herds, with the exception of periods before and after the breeding season. At this time, the males leave the herd to fatten and intensively build up strength. Male deer fight with rivals for a group of females with horns, teeth and forelegs. Females are also not averse to competing for the male’s attention; they bite each other. Successful stag beetles dominate and as the fittest males mate with females.
During mating, males practically do not feed, since all attention is devoted to control over domination of females. Only after fertilization of the females do the dominant males begin to eat again and quickly regain weight. The breeding season lasts 160 days, usually in June and July. After a gestation period of 288 days, the females give birth to one or two deer. Fawns at birth weigh about 11 kg, cease to eat breast milk in 10-11 months. Females reach puberty after two years, and males during the first year. Adults live up to 18 years.
Habits
Males love to “decorate” their horns with vegetation, tangling them in bushes and winding greens. For the winter in December or January, horns are dumped. Unlike other species, the deer of David often makes roaring sounds.
He eats grass, reeds, shrubs and algae.
Since there is no way to observe this population in the wild, it is not known who the enemy of these animals is. Presumably a leopard, a tiger.
Habitat
This species appeared during the Pleistocene period somewhere in the vicinity of Manchuria. The situation changed during the Holocene, according to the found remains of the animal (David's deer).
Where does this species live? The original habitat is believed to have been swampy low-lying meadows and reed-covered places. Unlike most deer, these can swim well and be in the water for a long time.
Since deer lived in open wetlands, they were easy prey for hunters, and in the 19th century their population was rapidly declining. At this time, the emperor of China moved a large herd to his "Royal Hunt Park", where the deer flourished. This park was surrounded by a wall 70 meters high, it was forbidden to look at it even under pain of death. However, Armand David, a French missionary, risking his life, discovered the species and was fascinated by these animals. David persuaded the emperor to give away several deer to be sent to Europe.
Soon, in May 1865, there was a catastrophic flood in China, they killed a large number of David's deer. After that, about five individuals remained in the park, but as a result of the uprising, the Chinese took the park as a defensive position and ate the last deer. At that time in Europe, these animals were bred to ninety individuals, but by the time of World War II, due to food shortages, the population had again declined to fifty. Weed survived largely thanks to the efforts of Bedford and his son Hastings, later the 12th Duke of Bedford.
After the war, the deer population in Europe grew, and in 1986 a small group of 39 individuals was re-imported into the Chinese nature reserve. There were fears that if they were returned to their habitat, they could face many problems due to the many years spent in captivity. For this reason, animals could lose adaptive behavior. The species may no longer be able to independently combat parasites, ticks and predators.
