Père David's deer

The Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), also known as the milu () or elaphure, is a species of deer native to the subtropical river valleys of China. It grazes mainly on grass and aquatic plants. It is the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus. Some experts suggest demoting Elaphurus to a subgenus of Cervus. Based on genetic comparisons, Père David's deer is closely related to Eld's deer. Père David's deer were hunted almost to extinction in their native China by the late 19th century, but a number were taken to zoos in France and Germany and the deer was bred successfully in captivity. In the early 20th century, the British nobleman and politician Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, acquired a few Père David's deer from the Berlin Zoo and built up a large herd on his estate at Woburn Abbey. In the 1980s, the duke's great-grandson Robin Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford, donated several dozen deer to the Chinese government for reintroducing the species to the wild. As of 2020, the wild population in China was an estimated 2,825 individuals, with a further 7,380 in various nature reserves in China. All Père David's deer alive today descend from Herbrand Russell's original herd. The Père David's deer is endemic to the Chinese region. According to fossil records, the species first appeared during the Pleistocene period, when it could be found across Manchuria. This demography changed during the Holocene period; during this time, the species could only be found in the swamp lands and wetlands of southern China. Due to hunting and land reclamation, the population of the Père David's deer became even smaller. By 1939, the last of the wild species were shot and killed. This species of deer was first made known to Western science in 1866 by Armand David (Père David), a French missionary working in China. He obtained some hinds and the carcasses of an adult male, an adult female and a young male, and sent them to Paris, where the species was named "Père David's Deer" by Alphonse Milne-Edwards, a French biologist.