Chinese Water Deer

(Hydropotes inermis)

As the name suggests, these deer are native to China and Korea but some of these animals escaped from the Woburn Estate and Whipsnade zoo in the 1940s and the British population is now thought to account for 10% of the world’s total.  Chinese water-deer do not have antlers but males (bucks) do have prominent ‘tusks’ and females have shorter, less visible ones.  The females routinely give birth to three to four young at one time.

Gestation period:

170 – 180 days

Threats to species:

Vulnerable due to habitat loss for large scale agricultural developments.

Conservation Today for Wildlife Tomorrow