Hydropotes inermis

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Despite its lack of antlers and certain other anatomical anomalies—including a pair of prominent tusks (downward-pointing canine teeth), it is classified as a cervid. Its unique anatomical characteristics have caused it to be classified in its own genus (Hydropotes) as well as its own subfamily (Hydropotinae). However, studies of mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b DNA sequences placed it near Capreolus within an Old World section of the subfamily Capreolinae. Its prominent tusks (elongated canines), similar to those of musk deer, have led to both being colloquially named vampire deer in English-speaking areas to which they have been imported. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Water deer are indigenous to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, coastal Jiangsu province (Yancheng Coastal Wetlands), and islands of Zhejiang of east-central China, and in Korea, where the demilitarized zone has provided a protected habitat for a large number. In China, water deer are found in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shanghai, and Guangxi. They are now extinct in the southern and western China. In Korea, water deer are found nationwide. Water deer inhabit the land alongside rivers, where they are protected from sight by the tall reeds and rushes. They are also seen on mountains, swamps, grasslands, and even open cultivated fields. Water deer are proficient swimmers, and can swim several miles to reach remote river islands. Chinese Water Deer are now located in United Kingdom, France and Argentina, and even some in the United States. Despite a listing of ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in South Korea the animal is thriving due to the extinction of natural predators such as Korean tigers and leopards. Since 1994, Korean water deer have been designated as “harmful wildlife”, a term given by the Ministry of Environment to wild creatures that can cause harm to humans or to their property. Currently, certain local governments offer bounties from 30,000 won($30) to 50,000 won($50) during the farming season. However, the hunting of water deer is not restricted to the warm season, as 18 hunting grounds are currently in operation this winter. Chinese water deer were first introduced into Great Britain in the 1870s. The animals were kept in the London Zoo until 1896, when Herbrand Russell oversaw their transferral to Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire. More of the animals were imported and added to the herd over the next three decades. In 1929 and 1930, 32 deer were transferred from Woburn to Whipsnade, also in Bedfordshire, and released into the park. The current population of Chinese water deer at Whipsnade is currently estimated to be more than 600, while the population at Woburn is probably in excess of 250. The majority of the current population of Chinese water deer in Britain derives from escapees, with the remainder being descended from a number of deliberate releases. Most of these animals still reside close to Woburn Abbey. It appears that the deer's strong preference for a particular habitat – tall reed and grass areas in rich alluvial deltas - has restricted its potential to colonize further afield. The main area of distribution is from Woburn, east into Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and North Essex, and south towards Whipsnade. There have been small colonies reported in other areas. The British Deer Society coordinated a survey of wild deer in the United Kingdom between 2005 and 2007 and noted the Chinese water deer as 'notably increasing its range' since the last census in 2000. A small population existed in France originating from animals that had escaped an enclosure in 1960 in western France (Haute-Vienne, near Poitiers). The population was reinforced in 1965 and 1970 and the species has been protected since 1974. Despite efforts to locate the animals with the help of local hunters, there have been no sightings since 2000, and the population is assumed to be extinct.