Hydropotes inermis, Swinhoe, 1870

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Cervidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 350-443 : 426-427

31.

Chinese Water Deer

Hydropotes inermis

French: Hydropote / German: Chinesisches Wasserreh / Spanish: Ciervo acuatico

Taxonomy. Hydropotes inermis Swinhoe, 1870 ,

Yangtze River ( China).

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

H.i.inermisSwinhoe,1870—EChina.

H. i. argyropus Heude, 1884 — Korean Peninsula.

Introduced into England.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 90-100 cm, tail 6-7 cm, shoulder height 50-55 cm; weight of adult males 11-15 kg and adult females 12-15. 5 kg. Females are on average 10-15% heavier than males. Small-sized deer with relatively long legs, short tail, and large erect ears. Males are antlerless but provided with long curved upper canines. The canines of females are five times smaller and not visible in the field. The summer coat is reddish-brown, the winter coat is paler and thick. The chin is pale, the nose is black and surrounded by an area of white. Molts in May and October. Fawns have pale spots, lost after two months. Preorbital, interdigital, and inguinal glands are present. Permanent molars erupt at 1-14 months.

Habitat. In the original rangeit lives nearrivers, lakes, and coasts with reeds and other tall grasses. In England it prefers the ecotone between woodland and grassland, using the wood for cover and open land for feeding.

Food and Feeding. Classified as a concentrate selector (browser), it can shift to an intermediate feeding pattern. In England it prefers tender parts of grasses, sedges forbs, and woody plants.

Breeding. Puberty is precociously attained at 6-7 months. Rutting season is mainly in December. Does are receptive for 24 hours. The mean length of gestation is about 168 days. Does can give birth to 1-5 fawns, usually 1-3, weighing at birth 0-6-1 each. Allosucking has commonly been observed in semi-captivity. Fawns are weaned after just three weeks. but lactation may last 4-5 months. At six months of age they reach 70-80% of the adult weight, at 18 months they attain 97% of the final body mass. Normally they live to a maximum of 7-8 years of age. Maximum longevity in captivity is 13 years. Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) and Dholes (Cuon alpinus) are the main predators.

Activity patterns. Several bouts of feeding in a 24hour period, with peaks in early morning and evening.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home ranges are small, generally of 20-50 ha. Males may be seasonally territorial, marking ground with glandular secretions, urine, and piles of feces during rutting season. It is a strictly solitary animal, which tends to minimize physical contacts with other conspecifics. Grouping is very rare, temporary, with no durable links between individuals. Maternal bonds last at most 4-5 months, but contacts between mothers and young begin to become infrequent after three weeks from parturition.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Formerly its distribution range included Korea and eastern China (from Jilin in the north-eastern part of the country to Guangxi in the south-eastern part). After a rapid contraction of its range in the last decades, now the species survives only on the western coast of Korea and in central-eastern China, around the eastern portion of the Yangtze Basin. Habitat destruction and poaching are the main threats. It has been kept in Woburn Park, England, since 1896; the first animals in the wild were sighted in 1945. In 2004 there were about 1500 free-living Chinese Water Deer in England.

Bibliography. Cooke & Farrell (2008), Dubost et al. (2008, 2011a, 201 1b), Sun & Dai (1995), Sun & Xiao (1995), Zhang (2000).

Figures

On followmg pages 30 Barasıngha (Huoervus duvıuoelıı) 31 Chınose Water Deer (Hydroporos ınermısl 32 Western Roe Deer (Capreolus aıpmolus), 33 Eastern Roe Deer (Capraolus pyyaryus)

Subspecies and Distribution. H.i.inermisSwinhoe,1870—EChina. H. i. argyropus Heude, 1884 — Korean Peninsula. Introduced into England .