Père David's Deer

Père David's Deer. Elaphurus davidianus. These deer were nearly hunted to extinction centuries ago, but a small herd survived on the emperor of China's private hunting grounds. A few were given to European zoos in the mid-1800s. Every Père David's deer alive today descended from the European population. , , Who is Père David? , The first person to describe this species to Western scientists. , Père Armand David was a French missionary and naturalist working in China in the 1800s. He wrote scientific descriptions of many species that were unknown to Europeans at the time, including these deer. Today they are called Père David's deer or milu, their historical Chinese name. , , A Unique Survival Story , Père David's deer barely escaped extinction. , After China's last remaining herd died out in 1901, the species existed only in a few European zoos. An English duke arranged for the zoos to combine their deer into a single breeding herd on his private estate. , , Eventually deer from this herd spread to zoos and wildlife preserves around the world. Several are now in China, where the species was absent for generations. , , [Caption next to map:] , Formerly found in wetlands in eastern China , , [Caption next to photo on right:] , Père David's deer at the Duke of Bedford's estate in England