by Alison Bowler

Created on: July 10, 2011   Last Updated: July 12, 2011

A native to China, the last known wild Pere David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) was shot near the Yellow Sea in 1939. Even prior to this date, the animal was rarely seen in the wild throughout most of the previous century. It had been native to the swamps and marshes of China but land reclamation and hunting by the growing human population diminished its range and population. The

red list of endangered species currently categorizes Pere David's deer as "Extinct in the Wild".    

The survival of the species is due to the Qing Dynasty of emperors (1616-1911). They kept a herd of the deer in a protected reserve. The Nanyuang Royal Hunting Garden in South Beijing had been walled off from all but members of the Royal court since the reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1205-1368). It was in this predominantly marshy preserve that the Qing emperors maintained their herd of deer.

In 1864, Pere Armand David, a French missionary, saw the deer in the Nanyuang Royal Hunting Garden. He managed to obtain some skins and skeletons of the deer, which he sent to France in 1866. From these, scientists recognized the deer as a previously unknown species. In recognition of the missionary's part in this discovery, Milne-Edwards called the animal Pere David's deer.

Some of the deer were sent to deer parks in France, Germany and England. This was fortunate as the Nanyuang Royal Hunting Garden suffered extensive flooding in 1895. Many of the deer drowned or were swept away and subsequently killed for food by the hungry peasants. After the flood only 20-30 animals remained in the herd. The remaining deer were killed and eaten when the gardens were invaded during the Boxer rebellion of 1900.

In an effort to save the species the 11th Duke of Bedford gathered the remaining 18 Pere David’s deer from around Europe to form a breeding herd in the grounds of Woburn Abbey, England. Despite the heavy inbreeding, the species survived and deer bred from this small herd have now been sent back to China. China now has sizeable herds in four fenced preserves at Beijing, Dafeng, Tianezhou and Yuanyang. There are also a number of smaller herds in China, some with as few as ten deer.

The Pere David's deer has a number of unique features. They can swim well and enjoy spending time in water. As an adaption to living in marshy land their hooves are long and slender and their legs long. Only the males produce antlers and they may produce two sets a year. The larger set grows to full length for the

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