IUCN threat status:

Extinct in the Wild (EW)


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Père David's deer

Père David's deer
Literal meaningElk-deer

Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), also known as the milu (Chinese: 鹿; pinyin: mílù) or elaphure, is a species of deer that is currently extinct in the wild—all known specimens are found only in captivity. This semiaquatic animal prefers marshland, and is native to the subtropics of China. It grazes mainly on grass and aquatic plants. It is the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus. Based on genetic comparisons, Père David's deer is closely related to the deer of the genus Cervus, leading many experts to suggest merging Elaphurus into Cervus,[2] or demoting Elaphurus to a subgenus of Cervus.[3]

Naming and etymology[edit]

Père David's deer (female).






Père David's deer (male) at Sharkarosa Ranch, 2014.




The gestation period is about nine months, after which a single offspring is usually born; twins are born in rare cases. The juveniles (referred to as either fawns or calves) have a spotted coat, as is commonly seen in most species of deer. They reach sexual maturity at about 14 months.[6] Historically, their main predators are believed to have been tigers and leopards. Despite no longer encountering ancestral predators, when experimentally exposed to images and stimuli relating to these big cats, the deer seemed to instinctively react with a cautious predator response typical of wild deer.[7]





Extinction in China[edit]

In the late 19th century, the world's only herd belonged to Tongzhi, the Emperor of China. The herd was maintained in the Nanyuang Royal Hunting Garden in Nan Haizi, near Peking.[9] In 1895, one of the walls of the hunting garden was destroyed by a heavy flood of the Yongding River, and most of the animals escaped and were killed and eaten by starving peasants. Fewer than thirty Père David's Deer remained in the garden. Then in 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the garden was occupied by troops and the remaining deer were shot and eaten, leaving the animal extinct in its native China.[1]





In 1993, 30 deer taken from the herd at Beijing Milu Park were released into the Tianezhou Milu National Nature Reserve. These were followed by another 34 deer taken from Beijing Milu Park and released into the Tianezhou Reserve. The average annual population growth rate for Père David’s deer in Tianezhou Nature Reserve was 22.2%.[1]


When the species was assessed for the IUCN Red List (1996), it was classified as "critically endangered" in the wild, under criterion "D": "[wild] population estimated to number less than 50 mature individuals".[12] Since October 2008, they have been listed as extinct in the wild, as all populations are under captive management. In spite of the small population size, the animals do not appear to suffer genetic problems from the genetic bottleneck. The captive population in China has increased in recent years, and the possibility remains that free-ranging populations can be reintroduced in the near future.[1]

Legend and cultural significance[edit]


According to Chinese legend, when the tyrant King Zhou of Shang ruled the land more than 4,000 years ago, a horse, a donkey, an ox and a deer went into a cave deep in the forest to meditate and on the day the King executed his virtuous minister Bigan, the animals awoke from their meditation and turned into humans.[13] They entered society, learned of the King's heinous acts and wanted to take recourse against the King, who was powerful.[13] So they transformed themselves into one creature that combined the speed of the horse, the strength of the ox, the donkey's keen sense of direction and the nimble agility of the deer.[13] This new animal then galloped to the Kunlun Mountains to seek the advice of the Primeval Lord of Heaven. The Lord was astonished at the sight of a creature that had antlers of a deer, hooves of an ox, face of deer and tail of a donkey. "It's unlike any of four creatures!" he exclaimed. Upon learning of the animal's quest, Lord gave his blessing and dispatched the creature to his disciple the sage Jiang Ziya, who was battling the King.[13] Jiang Ziya rode the creature to victory over the King and helped found the Zhou Dynasty. After fulfilling its vow, the milu settled in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.[13] The animal became a symbol of good fortune and was sought by later emperors who believed eating the meat of the milu would lead to everlasting life.[13] By the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago, the milu was already extinct in the wild, but kept in imperial hunting grounds.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Zhigang, J; Harris, RB (2008). Elaphurus davidianus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  7. ^ Li, Chunwang; Yang, Xiaobo; Ding, Yuhua; Zhang, Linyuan; Fang, Hongxia; Tang, Songhua; Jiang, Zhigang; Hayward, Matt (August 24, 2011). "Do Père David's Deer Lose Memories of Their Ancestral Predators?". PLoS ONE 6 (8): e23623. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023623. 
  8. ^ (Chinese) 王蕾, 麋鹿与狩猎 2007-12-17
  11. ^ "Père David’s deer". britannica. 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-20. 
  12. ^ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
  13. ^ a b c d e f (Chinese)麋鹿文化--麋鹿的传说 2012-04-11

Further reading[edit]



Source: Wikipedia

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