This grassland and swamp-dwelling deer feeds on grasses, aquatic reeds and leaves, often spending long periods of time wading or swimming in water. Females form social single-sex herds, though males join these herds to breed during rutting season. Males use their large antlers for mock and real fights during these ruts.
Fun Fact – the 11th Duke of Bedford was the driving force behind gathering the last 18 individuals alive to form a breeding herd which saved the species!
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Ecology
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Threats
Hunting and habitat loss were the key drivers behind the extinction of the Père David’s Deer, with sport hunting wiping out the last wild population. Today, lack of genetic diversity is the main threat, as the surviving individuals are severely inbred. This makes them vulnerable to environmental changes or local disasters.
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Conservation
The surviving populations in zoos and game parks are carefully managed – for example, the European population was moved during WW2 to protect them from bombing. Reintroduction programmes are ongoing with the aim of establishing a truly wild, free-ranging population. The samples stored by Nature’s SAFE are a crucial part of preserving invaluable genetic diversity for this species, which acts as a hopeful case study of what can be achieved through international cooperation and well-executed conservation.
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Together we can end the extinction crisis
Preserved January 2024
Help us turn the tide on extinction
At least 50 distinct genetic lines are needed to save each species.
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Arctic wolf
Total Population: Around 200,000 in the wild
Asiatic Lion
Total Population: Around 650 in the wild
Black tree monitor
Total Population: Unknown
Lesser Madagascan tenrec
Total Population: Unknown
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Total Population: Less than 40,000 in the wild
Little egret
Total Population: 660,000 to 3,150,000 in the wild
Pygmy marmoset
Total Population: Unknown
Nile Lechwe
Total Population: 30,000 - 40,000 in the wild
Guianan Squirrel Monkey
Total Population: Around 150,000 in the wild
Azara’s agouti
Total Population: Unknown
Black Hornbill
Total Population: Unknown
Collared peccary
Total Population: More than 2,000,000 in the wild
Hyacinth macaw
Total Population: Around 6,500 in the wild
Red river hog
Total Population: Unknown
Hamerkop
Total Population: Unknown
Black-naped fruit dove
Total Population: Unknown
Common Eland
Total Population: 90,000 to 110,000 in the wild
Asian short-clawed otter
Total Population: Unknown
