Ever seen a deer with fangs?
When you think of male deer fighting over females, you probably think
of clashing antlers. After all, this is the way the majority of deer
species do it. But water deer, or Hydropotes inermis (meaning "unarmed
water-drinker) do things a little differently: when two males want to
compete for territory, they stand together and swing their heads down to
wound each other's neck and shoulders
with their long canines. These fights can cause fairly serious wounds.
When one male is defeated he lays his head on the ground, whereupon the
victor stops the fight and chases the loser out of his territory.
The water deer's features make it a very unusual member of the Cervidae
family, with only muntjacs possessing similar teeth (though they have
small antlers too). It also shares its strange appearance with musk deer
(which belong to the family Moschidae), who also have tusks rather than
antlers.
There are two subspecies of water deer; the Chinese
water deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean water deer
(Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Importing and escapes have created a
sizeable population of Chinese water deer in Britain. Water deer are
relatively small in size, reaching a height of just over 65cm at the
shoulder.
Photo: Chinese water deer (credit to Mark Newman/www.flpa-images.co.uk) and a replica of its skull (credit to Bone Clones).
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Ever seen a deer with fangs?
When you think of male deer fighting over females, you probably think of clashing antlers. After all, this is the way the majority of deer species do it. But water deer, or Hydropotes inermis (meaning "unarmed water-drinker) do things a little differently: when two males want to compete for territory, they stand together and swing their heads down to wound each other's neck and shoulders with their long canines. These fights can cause fairly serious wounds. When one male is defeated he lays his head on the ground, whereupon the victor stops the fight and chases the loser out of his territory.
The water deer's features make it a very unusual member of the Cervidae family, with only muntjacs possessing similar teeth (though they have small antlers too). It also shares its strange appearance with musk deer (which belong to the family Moschidae), who also have tusks rather than antlers.
There are two subspecies of water deer; the Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Importing and escapes have created a sizeable population of Chinese water deer in Britain. Water deer are relatively small in size, reaching a height of just over 65cm at the shoulder.
Photo: Chinese water deer (credit to Mark Newman/www.flpa-images.co.uk) and a replica of its skull (credit to Bone Clones).
http://
http://
When you think of male deer fighting over females, you probably think of clashing antlers. After all, this is the way the majority of deer species do it. But water deer, or Hydropotes inermis (meaning "unarmed water-drinker) do things a little differently: when two males want to compete for territory, they stand together and swing their heads down to wound each other's neck and shoulders with their long canines. These fights can cause fairly serious wounds. When one male is defeated he lays his head on the ground, whereupon the victor stops the fight and chases the loser out of his territory.
The water deer's features make it a very unusual member of the Cervidae family, with only muntjacs possessing similar teeth (though they have small antlers too). It also shares its strange appearance with musk deer (which belong to the family Moschidae), who also have tusks rather than antlers.
There are two subspecies of water deer; the Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis inermis) and the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Importing and escapes have created a sizeable population of Chinese water deer in Britain. Water deer are relatively small in size, reaching a height of just over 65cm at the shoulder.
Photo: Chinese water deer (credit to Mark Newman/www.flpa-images.co.uk) and a replica of its skull (credit to Bone Clones).
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