| Chinese Water Deer | |
|---|---|
 Note the fangs | |
| Information | |
| Range | China |
| Estimated Population | ~10,000 |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Artiodactyla |
| Family | Cervidae |
| Genus | Hydropotes |
| Species | H. inermis |
| Conservation Status | |
 Vulnerable | |
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 certain anatomical peculiarities, including a pair of prominent tusks (downward-pointing canine teeth), and its lack of antlers, it is classified as a cervid. Yet, 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, similar to those of musk deer, have led to both subspecies being colloquially named vampire deer in English-speaking areas to which they have been imported. The species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. It was first described to the Western world by Robert Swinhoe in 1870.
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. The Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus) is one of the two subspecies of Chinese water deer. While the population of Chinese subspecies is critically endangered in China, the Korean subspecies are known to inhabit 700,000 throughout South Korea. In China, water deer are found in Zhoushan Islands in the Zhejiang (600~800), Jiangsu (500~1,000), Hubei, Henan, Anhui (500), Guangdong, Fujian, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi (1,000), Shanghai, and Guangxi. They are now extinct in southern and western China. Since 2006, water deer has been reintroduced in Shanghai, with population increased from 21 individuals in 2007 to 227~299 individuals in 2013. In Korea, water deer are found nationwide and are known as gorani (고라니).
Apart from mating 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 preorbital glands against it. Males may also bite off vegetation to delineate territorial boundaries.[citation needed]
Water deer use their tusks for territorial fights and are not related to carnivores. 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.[citation needed]
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