In grassy thickets, near lakes and rivers of Korea and East China, amazing animals live. They live in dense reed beds and in the green foothills. Few people know about their existence.
Everyone knows the image of a deer - a handsome man with sprawling huge horns on his head. In reality, there are quite hornless ones among them. This form will be discussed in this article. But first, we give general information about these animals.
What is an animal deer?
The deer received its modern name from the Old Slavonic word "spruce". So these peoples of ancient times called a slender animal with beautiful branchy horns.
The growth and size of different types of deer are very different. For comparison, we give the following example: the growth of the reindeer, with a length of 2 meters and a weight of 200 kg, is 0.8-1.5 meters; the height and length of a small crested one reaches only one meter, and weight - 50 kg.
The most slender is a red deer. He has a proportionate physique, with an elongated neck and a light, slightly elongated head.
Mostly deer live in Europe, Asia and in Russia. They have taken root well in America, Australia and Africa. Their average life expectancy in nature is up to 20 years. On deer farms and in zoos, these animals live up to 30 years.
Water deer: photo, appearance
It belongs to the deer family. This representative is the only species from the genus of water deer. He has no horns, but there are unusual fangs with which he can protect himself in case of danger.
This animal is not too big: the body length is 70-100 centimeters, the height of the deer at the withers reaches 50 cm, its body weight is from 9 to 15 kg. The tail has a length of only 8 centimeters. The upper lip is white, and there are rings around his eyes.
A good indicator of the age of a deer are teeth. Specialists in this field can accurately determine how old the animal is, by the degree of grinding of the incisors and fangs, by their curvature and tilt angles.
Water deer (photo - below) has brown-brown coat color. In the summer, this animal sheds and the hair becomes short. In winter, it is fluffy and warm.
Features
A distinctive feature of males are fangs located in the upper jaw. Moreover, their length in adult males is about eight centimeters. Using the facial muscles, this animal is able to control these fangs. Hornless deer can also hide them during meals. But when a danger arises or a fight for a female occurs, they again straighten them. Due to the presence of such a feature, this animal is called a vampire deer.
The lifestyle of this animal is mainly daytime, this handsome man is very cautious.
From the crested eagle (the main enemy), the water deer learned to hide under the surface of the water. Having sensed and heard a predator, he immediately rushes into the nearest channel and, having swum or having run some distance along the bottom, tries to hide under branches hanging from the shore, or under snags. Only ears, nostrils and eyes remain above the surface of the water. This allows the deer to follow the enemy, while remaining inaccessible and invisible to the predator.
Habitat
Why are hornless deer called aquatic? Because in natural conditions they live in floodplains. These are mainly the territories of the central and eastern parts of the Korean Peninsula and the PRC (eastern part, north of the Yangtze Valley).
Still water deer was brought to France and the UK and perfectly acclimatized in local climatic conditions.
In fact, these animals lead a solitary lifestyle, sometimes finding a mate only for the rutting period.
Breeding
In December, the race of water deer begins. Males fight for the female, using their unique fangs that can open their neck to any opponent. After such hostilities, many of the males are left with terrible scars on their faces and neck. The sounds that deer communicate with each other are very similar to dogs barking, and when they mate they make unusual clicking sounds.
Males females shout with a quiet whistle. The pregnancy of females lasts six months. After birth, the little deer hide for several days in the dense bushes, and then they begin to sally out with their mother.
