Capreolus pygargus

The Siberian roe deer or eastern roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) is a species of roe deer found in northeastern Asia. In addition to Siberia and Mongolia, it is found in Kazakhstan, the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, eastern Tibet, the Korean Peninsula, and northeastern China (Manchuria). Its specific name pygargus, literally 'white-rumped', is shared by the pygarg, an antelope known in the antiquity. The name was chosen by the German biologist Peter Simon Pallas in the late 18th century.The roe deer has long antlers. The Siberian roe deer was once considered by some as the same species as the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), but it is now considered to be separate. It has larger antlers with more branches than those of European roe deer. The Siberian species can be found across central Asia and in the Caucasus Mountains and weighs up to 59 kg (130 lb). The Siberian and European roe deer meet at the Caucasus Mountains with the Siberian roe deer occupying the northern flank, and the European roe deer occupying the southern flank, Asia Minor, and parts of northwestern Iran. Roe deer can jump distances up to 15 m (49 ft), and generally live about 8–12 years, with a maximum of about 18 years. The two subspecies of Siberian roe deer are C. p. pygargus and C. p. tianshanicus (named for the Tian Shan mountains). The Siberian roe deer is a moderately sized metacarpalian deer, with a long neck and large ears. In winter the northern populations exhibit light gray coloring, but their southern counterparts are grayish brown and ochraceous. The belly is creamy and the caudal patch is white. In the summer, their coloring is reddish. Young have a spotted coat. Males are larger and have three-tined antlers, widely spaced and slanting upward, which are shed in the autumn or early winter and begin to regrow shortly thereafter. Siberian roe deer are found within the temperate zone of eastern Europe and Asia. Fossil records show their territory once stretched to the northern Caucasus. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their range was diminished by overhunting in eastern Europe, northern Kazakhstan, western Siberia, and northern regions of eastern Siberia. Due to a division in their range, two morphologically different subspecies resulted (Ural and Siberia). The Siberian roe deer has a light, slender build adapted for tall, dense grass. They live in forest and steppe habitats and develop high densities in tall-grass meadows and floodplains. They are adapted to severe weather extremes. It may have become naturalized in England for a short period in the early 20th century as an escapee from Woburn, but were exterminated by 1945.