Deer of David - a dead but restored species. Deer of David Deer of David 4 letters

29.10.2019

The David deer is almost critically endangered, currently only surviving in captivity. This animal is named after the zoologist Arman David, who oversaw the last remaining Chinese herd and spurred society to active position for the conservation of this population, the second name of which is Milu.

What does the name "Si-pu-xiang" mean?

The Chinese call this mammal "Xi Pu Xiang", which means "not one of four". it strange name refers to what the deer of David looks like. The appearance of the deer resembles a mixture of four like a cow, but not a cow, a neck like a camel, but not a camel, 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 big eyes. Unique among deer, this species has antlers with the main ramification of the anterior segment extending backwards. In summer, its color becomes reddish, in winter - gray, there is a small scruff, and along the back there is an oblong dark stripe. If the horned representatives are spotted with pale patches, then we have a young deer of David (photo below). They look very touching.

Deer of David Description

Body length - 180-190 cm, shoulder height - 120 cm, tail length - 50 cm, weight - 135 kg.

Kingdom - animals, type - chordates, class - mammals, order - artiodactyls, suborder - ruminants, family - deer, genus - deer of David.

This species has closely related relatives:

southern red muntjak (Muntiacus muntjak);

Peruvian deer (Andean deer antisensis);

southern Pudu.

reproduction

Since the deer of David is practically not found in wild nature, observations of his behavior are made while keeping in captivity. This species is social and lives in large herds except 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 the help of antlers, teeth and front legs. Females are also not averse to compete for the attention of the male, they bite each other. Successful stags win dominance and how fittest males mate with females.

During mating, males practically do not feed, as all attention is devoted to controlling dominance over females. It is only after the females have been fertilized that the dominant males begin to feed again and quickly regain weight. The breeding season lasts 160 days, usually in June and July. After a gestation period of 288 days, females give birth to one or two fawns. Fawns at birth weigh about 11 kg, stop feeding on mother's milk at 10-11 months. Females reach sexual maturity after two years, while males within the first year. Adults live up to 18 years.

habits

Males are very fond of “decorating” their horns with vegetation, tangling them in bushes and winding greenery. For the winter in December or January, the antlers are shed. Unlike other species, David's deer often make roaring noises.

He eats grass, reeds, leaves of shrubs and algae.

Since it is not possible 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 period, according to the found remains of an animal (David's deer).

Where does this species live? The original habitat is believed to have been swampy, low-lying grasslands and reed-covered places. Unlike most deer, these can swim well and stay in the water for a long time.

Since deer lived in open wetlands, they were easy prey for hunters, and their population rapidly declined in the 19th century. At this time, the Emperor of China moved a large herd to his "Royal Hunting Park" where the deer prospered. This park was surrounded by a wall 70 meters high, it was forbidden to look beyond 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 hand over some deer to be sent to Europe.

Soon, in May 1865, there were disastrous they killed a large number of deer of David. 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 the Second World War, due to food shortages, the population was again reduced to fifty. Weed survived largely due to the efforts of Bedford and his son Hastings, later 12th Duke of Bedford.

Deer sanctuary

The birthplace of these exotic animals is China, where nature reserves have been formed for them, where more than 1000 individuals are kept.

The Dafeng Reserve became David's home. It is the largest of its kind in the whole world, it is there that the largest number of Milu residents live.

Dafeng National nature reserve covers an area of 78,000 hectares, it was established in 1986 on east coast

The body is elongated, the legs are high, the head is elongated and narrow, and the neck is short. Ears pointed, short.

There is no fur at the tip of the muzzle. The tail is long, with elongated hairs at its tip.

The Deer of David is medium in size. In length, these animals reach 150-215 centimeters, and about 140 centimeters in height. Deer of David weigh 150-200 kilograms.

The horns grow up to 87 centimeters in length. They are very peculiar, no other species of deer has such a form: the juveniles of the main trunk look back, and the lowest and longest process can also branch, sometimes it has up to 6 ends.

In summer, the color of the back of the David deer is yellow-gray, while the ventral side is light yellow-brown.

Near the tail there is a small "mirror". AT winter time the color becomes gray-brown. The young have a light reddish-brown color with faint white-yellow spots.

Deer David lifestyle

The deer of David lived in the swampy regions of Central and Northern China. In the middle of the 19th century, the deer of David were preserved only in the imperial hunting park. It was there that the deer were discovered in 1865 by a missionary from France, David. In 1869, he brought one individual to Europe, and today these deer, in the amount of about 450 individuals, live in all major world zoos.

And in China, the last deer of David was destroyed in 1920 during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1960, deer were again acclimatized in their homeland.

How Do David's Deers Behave? vivo dont clear. Most likely, these animals lived along the banks of wetlands. The diet of these animals consists of swampy herbaceous plants.

Deer of David live in herds of various sizes. mating season falls in June-July. Pregnancy lasts about 250 days. In April-May, 1-2 deer are born. They reach sexual maturity at 27 months, and in rare cases they can mature at 15 months.

Revival of the David deer population

The history of this animal is an example of the importance of keeping animals in captivity for the conservation of rare species. David's deer were exterminated in their homeland, this species could have completely disappeared if some animals had not been settled in various zoos in Europe.

Just one person was the initiator of all the deer of David gathered together and united in a small herd. This made it possible to save the genus from complete extinction.

David's deer were not domesticated, but at the same time they were not known as wild animals. In historical times, the deer of David lived on a large alluvial plain in China.

Wild individuals ceased to exist from 1766 - 1122. BC, when the Shang Dynasty ruled. At this time, they began to cultivate the plains where the deer lived, so they were gone. For almost 3,000 years, deer have been kept in parks. When the genus was discovered to science, only one herd survived in the Imperial Game Park south of Beijing. In 1865, the French naturalist Armand David managed to see deer through the fence of the park, where Europeans could not pass. This is how these animals were discovered.

AT next year David got 2 skins of these animals and sent them to Paris, where they were described by Milne-Edwards. Later, several live deer were transported to Europe, and their offspring settled in several zoos.

In 1894, the Yellow River overflowed, which demolished the stone wall surrounding the Imperial Park, and the animals scattered around the surroundings. Many deer were killed by starving peasants. Only a small number of deer survived, but in 1900 they were destroyed during the ongoing Boxer Rebellion. Only a few deer were taken to Beijing. By 1911, only two David deer remained alive in China, but both of them died 10 years later.

One Man's Perseverance Saved the Deer Population

These events prompted the idea of the Duke of Bedford to create a herd in Woburn, and for this it was necessary to bring all the animals from different European zoos together. In 1900-1901 he collected 16 specimens. The breeding herd began to increase, and by 1922 there were already 64 individuals in it.

The endangered species of artiodactyl - David's deer is under the control of zoologists, for its conservation created world organization. Why animals almost disappeared, what events preceded this? What does a deer look like, where does it live, what are its features? Answers and photos in the article.

What happened to the rare artiodactyl

During the history of its existence, David was on the verge of extinction twice. How did it happen? Even at the beginning of our era, people "met" with a wild deer with branched horns. But "communication" consisted in hunting deer in order to get tasty meat, skin and antlers. Rapid deforestation in Central China, uncontrolled hunting led to the almost complete extermination of rare animals. Thanks to the Chinese ruler in the 2nd century AD. a small number of individuals were saved. They were caught and settled in the Imperial hunting park.

Attention! Deer, natives Chinese forests, are unique in their ability to swim, unlike other species. Therefore, swampy places were a comfortable place for them to live.

Hunting for horned mammals was allowed only to monarchs. In the middle of the 19th century French diplomat Jean Pierre Armand David managed to persuade the Chinese emperor to take several individuals to Europe. He discovered that this is a species unknown to science. In England, rare artiodactyls, which were given the name of the discoverer, managed to be propagated. And the Chinese imperial park, unfortunately, became the place of death of deer. Large-scale flooding of the Yellow River destroyed the walls of the park and flooded the forest. Almost all of the animals drowned, and those who managed to escape were killed during the Chinese uprising in the first year of the twentieth century. Rescued animals that lost their homeland miraculously survived in Europe.

Second World War did not spare them either. About 40 individuals remained - it was decided to return the deer to their native forests of China. The place of death has become a new habitat. Reserves were created for the "David's brainchildren", where about 1 thousand representatives of the species now live.

Characteristics, habitats, lifestyle

Observant Chinese gave a deer with a European name and another name - "xi lu xiang", "not like four" Who are we talking about? The fact is that outwardly the deer collected signs of several animals in its appearance:

hooves like a cow;
neck, almost like that of a camel;
deer horns;
donkey tail.

"Looks like it's not the same." The artiodactyl has a brown-brick color in summer, gray in winter. Height at the withers 140 cm, length up to 2 m, weight about 200 kg. The head is small, slightly elongated, the eyes are beads, the ears are almost triangular - sharp. "Horn" reaches king size- luxurious "crown" grows to almost 90 cm.

Attention! Deer of David - the owner of unique horns that other species do not have. The lower process is able to branch, forming up to 6 tips. The main "branches" are directed back.

Currently, "Xi Lu Xiang" lives only in zoos and protected reserves in China and Europe. The animal enjoys swimming. Enters the water "shoulder-deep" and can for a long time be in this position. Deer live in herds, the male, as a rule, has a "harem" of several females. The proud animal wins back its chosen ones during fierce fights with rivals during mating games. During the duel, horns, front legs and even teeth are used.

A beautiful representative of horned animals, fortunately, has been saved from extinction. Perhaps in the near future it will be possible to release animals into their native element - the wild.

Rare deer: video

Elaphurus davidianus) - rare view deer, is currently known only in captivity, where it slowly breeds in various zoos around the world and is introduced into a nature reserve in China. Zoologists suggest that this species originally lived in the swampy areas of northeastern China.

Description

Rather large deer, body length is 150–215 cm, height at shoulder level is 115–140 cm, body weight is 150–200 kg, tail length is about 50 cm. Top part in summer time painted in ocher or reddish-brown color, the belly is light brown. In winter, the back becomes more woolly and changes color to gray-red, the belly becomes a bright cream color. One of the unique features of the species is the presence of long, wavy, year-round guard hairs (the long, stiff, thickest hairs of the fur coat). On the back along the spine there is a dark longitudinal stripe.

The head is unusually long and narrow, the eyes are small and expressive, and the ears are pointed at the end. The skin around the eyes and lips is light gray, and males have a small mane on the front of the neck. The legs are long; the hooves are wide, with a long heel part, can be widely moved apart, the lateral ones are well developed and touch the ground when walking on soft ground. In general, the hooves are well adapted for walking in swampy areas. The tail resembles a donkey, with a tassel at the end. The horns of males are large, rounded in cross section, unique among deer - in the middle part the main trunk branches, the processes are always directed backwards. Another unusual feature horns is that they can change twice a year - the first pair appears in the summer, and is reset in November; the second pair appears in January (or may not appear) and is reset after a few weeks. The females do not have horns.

Story

In Europe, these deer first appeared in the middle of the 19th century thanks to the French priest, missionary and naturalist Armand David, who traveled to China and saw these deer in the closed and carefully guarded imperial garden. By that time, the deer had already become extinct in the wild, believed to be the result of uncontrolled hunting during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1869, the Tongzhi Emperor donated several of these deer to France, Germany, and Great Britain. In France and Germany, the deer soon died, and in the UK they survived thanks to 11th Duke of Bedford who kept them on his estate Woburn(English) Woburn estate) . By that time, two events had occurred in China itself, as a result of which the remaining imperial deer were completely killed. In 1895, a flood occurred as a result of the flood of the Yellow River, and the frightened animals escaped into the resulting gap in the wall and then either drowned in the river or were destroyed by the peasants, who were left without crops. The remaining animals died during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Further reproduction of David's deer comes from the 16 individuals remaining in the UK, which began to be gradually bred in various zoos around the world, including, starting from 1964, in the zoos of Moscow and St. Petersburg. By the 1930s, the population of the species was about 180 individuals, and now there are several hundred animals. In November 1985, a group of animals was introduced to the Daphyn Milu Nature Reserve. Dafeng Milu Reserve) near Beijing, where they presumably once lived.

Lifestyle

Unlike most other members of the family, David's deer likes to stay in the water for a long time and swims well. During the mating season, males arrange fights for the female, during the fight they use not only horns and teeth, but also their hind limbs. In conditions of keeping in open-air cages, many females carry no more than 2-3 calves in their life.

Gallery

Elaphurus davidianus-Milu.jpg

Elaphurus davidianus.jpg

mi lu with winter corns.jpg

Deer of David with winter antlers

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Deer of David

Petya did not know how long this went on: he enjoyed himself, was constantly surprised at his own pleasure and regretted that there was no one to tell him. Likhachev's gentle voice woke him up.
- Done, your honor, spread the guard in two.
Petya woke up.
- It's getting light, really, it's getting light! he cried.
Previously invisible horses became visible up to their tails, and a watery light was visible through the bare branches. Petya shook himself, jumped up, took out a ruble bill from his pocket and gave it to Likhachev, waved it, tried the saber and put it in its sheath. The Cossacks untie the horses and tighten the girths.
“Here is the commander,” said Likhachev. Denisov came out of the guardroom and, calling to Petya, ordered to get ready.

Quickly in the semi-darkness, they dismantled the horses, tightened the girths and sorted out the teams. Denisov stood at the guardhouse, giving his last orders. The infantry of the party, slapping a hundred feet, advanced along the road and quickly disappeared between the trees in the predawn fog. Esaul ordered something to the Cossacks. Petya kept his horse in line, impatiently waiting for the order to mount. washed cold water His face, especially his eyes, burned with fire, chills ran down his back, and something in his whole body trembled quickly and evenly.
- Well, are you all ready? Denisov said. - Come on horses.
The horses were given. Denisov was angry with the Cossack because the girths were weak, and, having scolded him, sat down. Petya took up the stirrup. The horse, out of habit, wanted to bite his leg, but Petya, not feeling his weight, quickly jumped into the saddle and, looking back at the hussars moving behind in the darkness, rode up to Denisov.
- Vasily Fyodorovich, will you entrust me with something? Please… for God's sake…” he said. Denisov seemed to have forgotten about the existence of Petya. He looked back at him.
“I’ll tell you about one thing,” he said sternly, “obey me and not meddle anywhere.
During the entire journey, Denisov did not say a word to Petya and rode in silence. When we arrived at the edge of the forest, the field was noticeably brighter. Denisov said something in a whisper to the esaul, and the Cossacks began to drive past Petya and Denisov. When they had all passed, Denisov touched his horse and rode downhill. Sitting on their haunches and gliding, the horses descended with their riders into the hollow. Petya rode next to Denisov. The trembling in his whole body grew stronger. It was getting lighter and lighter, only the fog hid distant objects. Driving down and looking back, Denisov nodded his head to the Cossack who was standing beside him.
- Signal! he said.
The Cossack raised his hand, a shot rang out. And at the same moment there was heard the clatter of galloping horses in front, shouts from different directions, and more shots.
At the same moment as the first sounds of trampling and screaming were heard, Petya, kicking his horse and releasing the reins, not listening to Denisov, who shouted at him, galloped forward. It seemed to Petya that it suddenly dawned brightly, like the middle of the day, at the moment a shot was heard. He jumped to the bridge. Cossacks galloped ahead along the road. On the bridge, he ran into a straggler Cossack and galloped on. There were some people in front—they must have been Frenchmen—running from the right side of the road to the left. One fell into the mud under the feet of Petya's horse.
Cossacks crowded around one hut, doing something. I heard from the middle of the crowd scary scream. Petya galloped up to this crowd, and the first thing he saw was the pale face of a Frenchman with a trembling lower jaw, holding on to the shaft of a pike pointed at him.
“Hurrah!.. Guys…ours…” Petya shouted and, giving the reins to the excited horse, galloped forward down the street.
Shots were heard ahead. Cossacks, hussars, and ragged Russian prisoners, who fled from both sides of the road, all shouted something loudly and incoherently. A young man, without a hat, with a red frown on his face, a Frenchman in a blue greatcoat fought off the hussars with a bayonet. When Petya jumped up, the Frenchman had already fallen. Late again, Petya flashed through his head, and he galloped to where frequent shots were heard. Shots were heard in the courtyard of the manor house where he had been last night with Dolokhov. The French sat there behind the wattle fence in a dense garden overgrown with bushes and fired at the Cossacks crowded at the gate. Approaching the gate, Petya, in the powder smoke, saw Dolokhov with a pale, greenish face, shouting something to people. "On the detour! Wait for the infantry!” he shouted as Petya rode up to him.
“Wait?.. Hurrah!” Petya shouted and, without a single minute's hesitation, galloped to the place where the shots were heard and where the powder smoke was thicker. A volley was heard, empty and slapped bullets screeched. The Cossacks and Dolokhov jumped after Petya through the gates of the house. The French, in the swaying thick smoke, some threw down their weapons and ran out of the bushes towards the Cossacks, others ran downhill to the pond. Petya galloped along the manor's yard on his horse and, instead of holding the reins, waved both hands strangely and quickly, and kept falling further and further from the saddle to one side. The horse, having run into a fire smoldering in the morning light, rested, and Petya fell heavily to the wet ground. The Cossacks saw how quickly his arms and legs twitched, despite the fact that his head did not move. The bullet pierced his head.
After talking with a senior French officer, who came out from behind the house with a handkerchief on a sword and announced that they were surrendering, Dolokhov got off his horse and went up to Petya, motionless, with his arms outstretched.
“Ready,” he said, frowning, and went through the gate to meet Denisov, who was coming towards him.

Systematic position (elaphurus davidianus)
Kingdom: Animals (Animalia).
Type of: Chordates (Chordata).
Class: Mammals (Mammalia).
Squad: Artiodactyls (Artiodactyla).
Family: Deer (Cervidae).
Genus: Deer of David (Elaphurus).
View: Deer of David (Elaphurus davidianus).

Why is it listed in the Red Book

Europeans first learned about the existence of this unusual deer only in the 19th century. This happened thanks to the efforts of the French missionary-lazarist, zoologist and botanist Armand David, who saw deer in the closed imperial garden during a trip to China.

The scientist discovered the skeletons of an adult male, female and cub, which he then sent to Paris for description. By the name of the naturalist Armand David, the species got its name. Scientists believe that by that time the deer of David had practically disappeared from their natural environment habitats, and only single individuals survived in nature.

However, there is information that the last deer of David was shot near yellow sea in 1939. In any case, if at the beginning of the 20th century. the deer of David lived in nature, they were not numerous.

In 1869, the Chinese Emperor Tongzhi made a grand gesture by donating several deer to zoos in Germany, France and Great Britain.

Animals were able to survive in completely new conditions only in the last country and, mainly, thanks to the efforts of the Duke of Bedford, who kept deer on his private estate. Around the same period, the deer remaining in China died. This happened for two reasons.

First, in 1895, as a result of the flood of the Yellow River and the subsequent severe flood, the imperial deer fell into a huge hole in the wall. They are believed to have drowned or been killed. local residents. Secondly, the surviving 20–30 individuals were destroyed in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion: they were simply shot and eaten.

Therefore, all modern deer of David are descendants of 16 individuals preserved in the UK. Gradually and systematically, animals began to be bred in many zoos of the world, and since 1964 - in the zoos of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The main reasons that influenced the decline in the number of the David deer were the loss of primary habitats, as well as massive and uncontrolled hunting.

Today, there are several hundred deer in captivity in the world. In 1985, a small group of animals were introduced into the Daphyn Milu nature reserve. It is assumed that it was in this area that deer lived earlier.

Here the animals not only took root well, but also began to multiply. Today, there are about 2 thousand individuals in the reserve, so there is a high probability that in the near future the David deer will leave the EW protection category, taking a confident step towards a new one, free life in wild nature.

Where does it live

In the old days, the David deer occupied territories in the northeast of China, where it kept to the swampy areas. Deer lived on the plains, making seasonal migrations to the river valleys.

How to find out

The Chinese believe that the deer of David is simultaneously similar to a deer, a cow, a donkey and a camel.

The appearance of David's deer is perhaps no less bizarre and unusual than his story. The body length of animals reaches 2 m, the height at the withers is 1.2 m, and the weight ranges from 130 to 200 kg. The deer has a large elongated head with large eyes and well-defined preorbital glands. Beautiful branched horns are the property of males. Horns can be updated once or twice a year. The tail reaches 50 cm in length and ends with a dark tassel. The coat color changes with the season. It is tawny in summer and gray in winter.

At the end of the XX century. a small deer population has been introduced into the Daphyn Milu Reserve. Animals have successfully taken root and reproduce in new conditions

Lifestyle and biology

The deer of David loves to be in the water for a long time. Unlike his closest relatives, he is an excellent swimmer and can stand in a pond for half a day, plunging into its waters up to his shoulders.

David's deer reach sexual maturity in their second year of life. During the mating season, tournament fights take place between males.

Rivals use everything: horns, teeth and even hind hooves, because the definition of a dominant is the most important task to which their life is subject during this period. Pregnancy lasts an average of 270-300 days, resulting in the birth of one, and less often two fawns. The mother feeds the babies with milk for 10-11 months, gradually accustoming them to adult food.

Deer feed on grass, sugarcane, leaves and young shoots of shrubs. In the summer, spending a lot of time in the water, they eat algae and various aquatic vegetation.

It has been found that the main natural enemy We species were tigers and leopards. Despite the fact that deer living in captivity do not encounter these predators, even at a glance at the image " big cats» deer take flight. Average duration The life span of the species is 18 years.

In the homeland of David's deer, it is often called sibuxiang, which can be roughly translated as "none of the four." Mysterious name, is not it? This means that the deer of David has resemblance with four animals: a deer, a cow, a donkey and a camel and at the same time does not look like any of them. With this name, the deer of David entered Chinese mythology.