Water deer: photo of the animal. Water deer or antlerless: photo, description Water deer

1. Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is an amazing animal, the only representative of the genus Water deer. Body length reaches 100 cm, height - 45-55 cm, weight - from 9 to 15 kg.

2. Total exists seven subspecies of this species, the most common of which is the Siberian water deer, and the rarest is the Kashmiri. The lifestyle and behavioral characteristics of these animals are very poorly studied. It is known that deer live alone or in pairs, feeding on vegetation - grass, leaves, mushrooms and young shoots.

3. The water deer is antlerless, but has long, curved arms. fangs growing in males up to 8 cm. An adult male water deer handles them very deftly - when eating, the fangs are retracted back, and in case of danger, they move forward. Deer use their fangs when fighting among themselves, defending territory.

4. Water deer are mainly distributed north of the Yangtze Valley in Eastern China and Korea. Several years ago there was news that rare Kashmir deer discovered on the territory of Afghanistan: no one has seen these individuals since 1948. Also, water deer are acclimatized in France and Great Britain.

5. How they communicate. The means of interaction between deer are peculiar sounds reminiscent of dog barking. Water deer “bark” at both people and other deer. During the mating season, the female signals the male that she is ready by whistling.

6. Why were aquatic deer called aquatic? They are excellent swimmers and are quite capable of covering kilometers in search of new territory. Just imagine: a fanged water deer swimming peacefully along the Yangtze River.

7. By the way, water is not only a method of transportation, but also a place of shelter for water deer. Here he is escapes from his main enemy - the crested eagle. Sensing the approach of a predator, the deer rushes into the water and, after swimming some distance along the bottom, tries to hide under the branches hanging along the shore. The ears, nostrils and eyes remain above the water. This way the deer remains inaccessible to predators.

Water deer ( Hydropotes inermis) - a small mammal from the Deer family ( Cervidae), which looks more like a deer than a deer. The animal is native to China and the Korean Peninsula. There are two subspecies of water deer - Chinese water deer ( Hydropotes inermis inermis) and Korean water deer ( Hydropotes inermis argyropus).

The water deer is under serious threat in its natural habitat due to poaching and. In some areas they are hunted for food, while in others they are viewed as agricultural pests that should be eradicated.

Physical Description

The water deer has an elongated neck, long legs, narrow pectoral and pelvic girdle. The hind legs are slightly longer and more powerful than the front legs. The small tail (about 4-9 cm) is barely noticeable, and the ears are short and rounded. The coat is golden brown with some black hair mixed in. In winter, the fur becomes thicker and coarser to prevent the animal from freezing. The cubs are born in dark brown coats.

Males have long, protruding tusks that grow from the upper jaw and resemble the tusks of a musk deer. They can grow up to 5 cm. During fights, males compress their lower lip and push their fangs forward to injure their opponent. Adults reach 75-100 cm in length, 45-55 cm at the withers and weigh from 9 to 14 kg.

Habitat and range

The water deer is native to the coastal wetlands of Yancheng, the lower Yangtze River and the Qiandaohu Islands. The demilitarized zone provides protected habitat for large herds. Water deer once roamed western and southern China, but are now completely extinct in these regions.

Populations in North Korea thrive thanks to well-preserved forests and wetlands. They live on the banks of rivers and swamps, where reeds and tall reeds serve as food and also protection from poachers. Water deer are good swimmers, able to reach remote islands.

The Korean population was previously considered vulnerable, but the extinction of predators, especially leopards and Korean tigers, has led to its resurgence. Today, water deer are also found in Argentina, France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Nutrition

The water deer's main diet consists of grasses, sedges, reeds and other wetland plants. The availability of food depends on the habitat. Deer that inhabit wetlands have a more varied diet than those that inhabit wetlands. Sometimes grasslands are burned to stimulate the development of new shoots.

Behavior

Water deer are asocial animals that prefer a solitary lifestyle. Males are territorial and mark their territories with excrement and urine. They also nibble off pieces of vegetation to mark boundaries. Although males have long fangs, they are not related to carnivores. They use their fangs as weapons during territorial and mating fights. The losing male is banished from the territory and cannot mate with any female within the boundaries.

Females only exhibit territorial behavior during the breeding season, but when the season ends they can be seen wandering into other territories. Female water deer behave aggressively towards other deer during pregnancy or after giving birth to their young. They make a barking sound, which is interpreted as an alarm signal.

Amazing animals live in the grassy thickets near the lakes and rivers of Korea and Eastern China. They live in dense and green foothills. Few people know about their existence.

Everyone is familiar with the image of a handsome deer with spreading huge antlers on its head. In fact, among them there are also completely hornless ones. This type will be discussed in this article. But first let's give general information about these animals.

What is the animal deer?

The deer received its modern name from the Old Slavonic word “elen”. This is what these peoples of ancient times called a slender animal with beautiful branched horns.

Height and dimensions different types deer are very different. For comparison, we give the following example: height with a length of 2 meters and a weight of 200 kg is 0.8-1.5 meters; The height and length of the small crested one reaches only one meter, and its weight is 50 kg.

The most slender is the red deer. It has a proportional build, with an elongated neck and a light, slightly elongated head.

Deer mainly live in Europe, Asia and Russia. They have taken root well in America, Australia and Africa. Their average life expectancy in natural conditions is up to 20 years. In reindeer herding farms and zoos, these animals live up to 30 years.

Water deer: photo, appearance

It belongs to the deer family. This representative is the only species of the genus of water deer. He does not have horns, but he has unusual fangs with which he can protect himself in case of danger.

This animal is not too large: the body length is 70-100 centimeters, the height of the deer at the withers reaches 50 cm, and its body weight is from 9 to 15 kg. The tail is only 8 centimeters long. The upper lip is white and there are rings around his eyes.

A good indicator of a deer's age is its teeth. Specialists in this field can accurately determine how old an animal is by the degree of wear of the incisors and canines, by their curvature and angles of inclination.

The water deer (photo below) has a brown-brown coat color. IN summer period This animal sheds and its fur becomes short. IN winter period she is fluffy and warm.

Peculiarities

A distinctive feature of males are the fangs located in the upper jaw. Moreover, their length in adult males is about eight centimeters. With the help of its facial muscles, this animal is able to control these fangs. Also, an antlerless deer can hide them while eating. But when danger arises or there is a struggle for the female, they straighten them out again. Due to the presence of this feature, this animal was called a vampire deer.

The lifestyle of this animal is mainly diurnal; this beauty is very careful.

From the crested eagle (the main enemy), the water deer learned to hide under the surface of the water. Feeling and hearing a predator, it takes a running start and rushes into the nearest channel and, after swimming or running some distance along the bottom, tries to hide under branches hanging from the shore, or under a snag. Only the 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.

Habitats

Why are antlerless deer called water deer? Because in natural natural conditions they live in floodplains. These are mainly the territories of the central and eastern parts of the Korean Peninsula and the People's Republic of China (eastern part, north of the Yangtze Valley).

Water deer were also brought to France and Great Britain and took root well in local climatic conditions.

In fact, these animals lead a solitary lifestyle, sometimes finding a mate only during the rutting period.

Reproduction

In December, the rut of water deer begins. Males fight for the female using their unique fangs, which can rip open the neck of any opponent. After such fighting, many of the males are left with terrible scars on their faces and necks. The sounds that deer communicate with each other are very similar to the barking of dogs, and when mating they make unusual clicking sounds.

Females call males with a quiet whistle. Pregnancy in females lasts six months. After birth, little fawns hide in dense bushes for a few more days, and then slowly begin to make forays with their mother.

In conclusion about the behavior of the animal and its nutrition

The water deer, as noted above, is a solitary animal. He is a good swimmer, capable of covering many kilometers of water in search of the necessary food, swimming from island to island in river deltas.

It should be noted that males have glands between their fingers that produce an odorous liquid, with which they often mark their territory.

Tender and succulent leaves of bushes, young river grass and succulent sedge are used as the main food. There is also harm from these animals. They cause a lot of damage agriculture, as they raid rice fields, thereby destroying cultural shoots along with weeds.

What you see in the image is not a photo processed by Photoshop, but a real view of a water deer, which is a representative of the deer family. Its Latin name is Hydropotes inermis.

This deer is unique in that it does not have the common attribute of all deer, namely antlers, which is why it was classified as a special group of antlerless deer.

But instead of horns, the water deer has two huge fangs, with the help of which these animals can defend themselves from enemies, and also during mating season weed out unwanted competitors.

Natural environment The habitats of water deer are the humid territories of the east-central regions of China, located in the Yangtze River Delta on the banks of rivers and lakes and, in addition, on the Korean Peninsula. Most often, you can observe how water deer graze in thickets of tall reeds and on green foothills, or while they rest on the soft soil of plowed and sown fields.

Water deer are excellent swimmers, which gives them the opportunity, if a change of environment is necessary or when looking for new pastures, to swim a distance of several kilometers, migrating between coastal islands.

Despite their impressive tusks, these animals, which are somewhat reminiscent of roe deer in appearance, feed exclusively plant foods, but they choose it more choosily than their other relatives. From time to time they like to make forays into cultivated fields, where they enjoy the harvest with pleasure. Most of all, water deer love lush green grass, young tender sprouts of sedge, as well as young leaves of bushes.

The long, curved tusks are the main attraction of the water deer. In an adult male, their length can range from 5.5 to 8 centimeters. The canines of water deer are mobile and controlled by the facial muscles. The fangs of an adult male can be compared to a folding knife: when the male eats, his fangs are retracted back, and if he is going to sort things out with someone, or senses danger, they move forward, turning into a rather formidable weapon.

The necks and heads of male water deer are covered with many scars received from their rivals during the mating season. In the face of danger, the deer clenches its jaws tightly, lowering its lower lip, which creates a menacing grin that can frighten its opponent. It was this grin that gave the water deer another name - “vampire deer.”

Water deer lead a solitary lifestyle; they remember the existence of their relatives only with the beginning of the mating season. Males mark territory using special fluid-secreting glands located between their toes. They guard their territory very jealously, and any uninvited guest will be in trouble if he decides to encroach on the habitat of the water deer.

In order to maintain the integrity of their territory, water deer not only produce an odorous liquid. To even more reliably mark the boundaries of their possessions, they pluck the grass along the perimeter of their plot of land. But this is not enough for them. For even more reliability, they lay out branches of young trees along the edges of the site, which they pre-mark with their saliva.