Stag of the father David

The stag of the father David ( Elaphurus davidianus ) is a only known Cervidé in captivity. He lives in wetlands and it is thought that he is originating in a subtropic. It grazes of grass and watery plants.

The adults weigh from 150 to 200 kg. Gestation lasts nine months and the range counts one to two fawns. Those reach their adult stage at the 14 month age surroundings. Their longevity can reach 23 years.

The stag of the Father David has a long tail, broad shoes and ramified wood. The estival ornament of the adults is red with a sunk dorsal line, that of winter is gray dark. The fawns are mottled.

The Chinese name (Chinese: 四不象; pinyin: sì bù xiàng) results in the different four because it was considered that this animal had the wood of a stag, the neck of a camel, the foot of a cow and the tail of an ass. With this name, this nondomestic mammal entered Chinese mythology like the mounting of Jiang Ziya in the novel of the time Ming, Fengshen Yanyi or the Nomination of the gods .

The first mention of this animal in Occident is made at the 19th century by the father Armand David (1826-1900), missionary Lazariste and naturalist French, working in China. At its time, the last herd surviving was in a park pertaining to the emperor of China. The last Chinese herd of stags of the Father David was killed and eaten by the Japanese and Western troops present in China during the Guerre of the Boxers.

After the David father made known the existence of this mammal, some specimens were sent in Europe and were high there. After the extinction of the populations of China, the stags surviving were transferred from Europe in Great Britain there to be high and thus preserve this species. All the current individuals are the descendants of this herd.

Today, this stag is in many zoos throughout the world and a herd was even reintroduced in the natural reserve of Dafeng in China at the end of the years 1980. This species is regarded as very threatened but does not appear to have suffered genetically because of the small size of its population

Manners

The stag of the Father David life in family group. This one remains plain during most of the year, except at the period of the rut, during which the male carries out a indéendante existence while seeking to make sure the possession of a harem. Contrary to the majority of the other species of deer tribe, the stag of Père David likes much water. It is thought besides that its habitat of origin was a marshy area of the North-East of China where it had adapted to an aquatic environment. It is a very good swimmer: in hot weather, it can spend the hours in immersion in water to the shoulders. The male likes particularly with vautrer in the mud, at the edge of the lakes and of the ponds, while making squirt mud with blows of shoes.

Food

The stag of the Father David nourishes mainly grass, but also of sheets and starts-up. In fact, all depends on the type of vegetation which it finds in its environment. In summer, he attends readily stagnant water and the rivers with the not very fast course, and supplements his usual mode by grazing watery plants.

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