Père David’s deer | Zoo Aquarium Madrid

Meet the Père David’s deer!

It was named after its discoverer, the French missionary and naturalist Armand David. The Chinese name (Su-Puh-Siang, "none of the four") refers to its resemblance to other animals. In ancient China, it was considered almost a mythical animal, the result of a fusion between deer, camel or horse, cow and donkey.

Discovered in 1865, it owes its survival to zoos. All the specimens of this species come from a herd that the Duke of Bedford kept in his private park at Woburn Abbey in England. The Duke’s herd included about twenty individuals that reproduced normally.

What are its habits?

The Père David's Deer is a gregarious species which, during rutting season, bellows and forms a harem, as well as becoming very territorial.

Only males have antlers, and they are a very curious shape compared to those of other deer: they seem to be placed upside down and with the tips backwards. Females usually give birth to two offspring.

Conservation

Extinct

Extinct in the wild

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Least concern

Insufficient data

Not evaluated