Chinese Water Deer
Didnt come from China.
Size
Head-Body Length- 77 to 100 cm
Shoulder Height- 45 to 55 cm
Tail length- 6 to 7.5 cm
Weight-8 to 14 kg
Communacation
Water deer are capable of emitting a number of sounds. The main call is a bark and this has more of a growl tone when compared with the sharper yap of a Muntjac. The bark is used as an alarm and water deer will bark repeatedly at people and at each other for reasons unknown. If challenged during the rut, a buck will emit a clicking sound. It is uncertain how this unique sound is generated, although it is possibly by using its molar teeth. During the rut a buck following a doe will make a weak whistle or squeak. The does emit a soft pheep to call to their fawns, whilst an injured deer will emit a screaming wail.
Tusks
This deer has developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of carnivors. The canines are fairly large in the bucks. The tusks are 2.1 in. in length on average but can be as long as 3.2 in. Does in comparison, have tiny canines that are on an average of 0.2 in. in length.
The teeth usually come in the autumn of the deer’s first year at approximately 6-7 months of age. By early spring the recently formed tusks reach approximately half of their final length. As the tusks develop, the root remains open until the deer is about eighteen months to two years old. When fully grown, only about 60% of the tusk is visible below the gum.
At the end of the male's first winter, his canines will be about half their full size; final length is reached after about 1 year 6 months. These canines are held loosely in their sockets, with their movement controlled by facial muscles. The buck can draw them backwards out of the way when eating. In aggressive encounters, he thrusts his canines out and draws in his lower lip to pull his teeth closer together. He then presents an impressive two-pronged weapon to rival males.
Reproduction
During the annual rut in November and December, the male will seek out and follow females, giving soft squeaking contact calls and checking for signs of estrus by lowering his neck and rotating his head with ears flapping. Scent plays an important part in courtship, with both animals sniffing each other. Mating among water deer is polygynous, with most females being mated inside the buck's own territory. After repeated mountings, copulation is brief.
Water deer have been known to produce up to seven young, but two to three is normal for this species, the most prolific of all deer. The doe often gives birth to her spotted young in the open, but they are quickly taken to concealing vegetation, where they will remain most of the time for up to a month. During these first few weeks, fawns come out to play. Once driven from the natal territory in late summer, young deer sometimes continue to associate with each other, later separating to begin their solitary existence.
In a survey of zoos, however, it was found that there were usually only two offspring per birth or occasionally three on the average.
Eating
Like other species of deer the Chinese Water Deer is an herbivorous ruminant. Chinese Water Deer are highly selective feeders, taking the most nutritious foodstuffs that are available. They prefer to feed on rich shoots, herbaceous plants and grasses in preference to poorer quality coarser foods. They feed on a wide variety of plants including grasses, shoots, woody stems, herbaceous plants, brambles and aquatic plants. They have a wider diet in summer when more foods are available than in the winter. Most feeding takes place at dawn and at dusk.
Behavior
Apart from during the rutting season, water deer are solitary animals, and males are highly territorial. Each buck marks out his territory with urine and feces. Sometimes a small pit is dug and it is possible that in digging, the male releases scent from the interdigital glands on its feet. The male also scent-marks by holding a thin tree in his mouth behind the upper canines and rubbing his pre-orbital glands against it. Males may also bite off vegetation to delineate territorial boundaries.
Confrontations between males begin with the animals walking slowly and stiffly towards each other, before turning to walk in parallel 10-20 m / 32–64 ft. apart, to assess one another. At this point, one male may succeed in chasing off his rival, making clicking noises during the pursuit. However, if the conflict is not resolved at the early stage, the bucks will fight. Each would try to wound the other on the head, shoulders, or back, by stabbing or tearing with his upper canines. The fight is ended by the loser, who either lays his head and neck flat on the ground, or turns tail and is chased out of the territory. Numerous long scars and torn ears seen on males indicate that fighting is frequent. The fights are seldom fatal but may leave the loser considerably debilitated. Tufts of hair are most commonly found on the ground in November and December, showing that encounters are heavily concentrated around the rut.
Females do not seem to be territorial outside the breeding season and can be seen in small groups, although individual deer do not appear to be associated; they will disperse separately at any sign of danger. Females show aggression towards each other immediately before and after the birth of their young and will chase other females from their birth territories.
