Chinese water deer are easily distinguished from other deer by their strange teddy bear like appearance and the huge canine tusks displayed by the stags.
About
As its name suggests this unusual deer is not a native UK species, having been introduced from China in the nineteenth century. It favours wet, marshy habitat and is a strong swimmer when it needs to.How to identify
Chinese water deer are a ginger/brown colour and lack the white rump seen in other species. They are larger than a muntjac but slightly smaller than a roe deer. The large fluffy ears and small black nose give it a teddy bear like appearance. The males possess some rather threatening looking tusks in place of canine teeth which are used for displaying and rutting with other males in the breeding season.Distribution
Occur throughout Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. They are threatened in their native habitats in China.
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