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PERE DAVID’S DEER (Elaphurus davidianus) Herbivore Description: The most unusual thing about Pere David’s deer is the stags’ antlers, which are reminiscent of giant roots. While two knobby antler beams rise vertically out of the frontal bone, they sprout very bizarrely shaped side branches - not forward, but rather toward the rear. The summer pelage, reddish tawny and mixed with gray, is much shorter than the grayish buff winter pelage. A mane is present on the neck and throat. Teeth: Deer species have no upper incisors and three pairs of lower incisors. They have 0-1 pair of canines in both jaws. They have three pairs of premolars and molars in both the upper and lower jaws, for a total of 32-34 teeth. The surfaces of their molars have a smooth texture. Diet: Although it supplements its grass diet with water plants in the summer, it is essentially a grazing animal. Range: It formerly inhabited the broad, swampy plains of the large river valleys of China. It is now extinct in the wild. Habitat: Pere David’s deer may have originally inhabited swampy, reed-covered marshlands. Social Organization: Females are clustered into “hinds,” or large groups. Adult males keep to themselves for about 2 months before and 2 months after the mating season. When the mating season begins, a stag joins with a group of females (now his harem) and fights off all other males. After all the females have come into heat and been impregnated by the stag, he leaves the harem to feed. History and Conservation Status: These animals liked to browse in open spaces, thus making them more easily hunted and their population was reduced early on. Only thanks to the avid collecting of a powerful, animal-loving Emperor of China was a herd captured and installed in the imperial park of Nan Hai-tsu south of Peking. This, at least, preserved the species in captivity. In the wild, though, its eradication continued until, in 1939, the last known Pere David’s deer living in the wild was shot not far from the Yellow Sea. It was a mere historic coincidence that led to the discovery and thus eventual rescue of the Pere David’s deer. A Jesuit priest, Armand David, negotiated with the Emperor and obtained permission to import several pairs to European zoos. 37
Subsequently, the emperor’s game park in China was destroyed by floods and the deer that were held there were killed. The Duke of Bedford, in his spacious game park in England, recognized that the species was at risk of complete extinction. He took care to provide a well thought-out breeding program for increasing the population. It succeeded beyond all expectations. Preservation of the Pere David’s deer is considered to this day an exemplary instance of zoologically-based animal conservation though planned breeding in captivity. Sources: Butzler, Wilfried. “Pere David’s Deer.” Grzimek’s Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1990. Volume V, pages 161-164. Nowak, Ronald M. and John L. Paradiso. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 4th edition, Volume II. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. Pages 1212-1213. 38
Page 1 and 2: OBJECTIVE AND OVERVIEW 1 CLASSROOM
Page 3 and 4: categories by observing teeth in th
Page 5: Students should be familiar with th
Page 8: Figure 1. Skulls of a cat (A), a ro
Page 11 and 12: Often it is fused with the occipita
Page 13 and 14: ing made up of the tympanic bone (e
Page 15 and 16: Premolars - These teeth are located
Page 17 and 18: time. They do not hibernate. Beaver
Page 19 and 20: Habitat: It is adaptable to all hab
Page 21 and 22: foundation. They often swish the fo
Page 23 and 24: Nowak, Ronald M. and John L. Paradi
Page 25 and 26: areas of southwestern Mongolia and
Page 27 and 28: Ferret Recovery Program. Under the
Page 29 and 30: Sources: Kurt, Fred. “True Deer.
Page 31 and 32: dangerous because of aggression, an
Page 33 and 34: LONG-NOSED ARMADILLO (Dasypus novem
Page 35 and 36: its habits and striking appearance,
Page 37: History: Tree kangaroos are especia
Page 41 and 42: PRZEWALSKI’S HORSE (Equus ferus p
Page 43 and 44: PUDU (Pudu puda) Herbivore Descript
Page 45 and 46: RED PANDA (Ailurus fulgens) Herbivo
Page 47 and 48: SABLE ANTELOPE (Hippotragus niger)
Page 49 and 50: SCIMITAR-HORNED ORYX (Oryx dammah)
Page 51 and 52: TIGER QUOLL (Dasyurus maculatus) Ca
Page 53 and 54: Appendix 5: Vocabulary List Student
Page 55: missing any teeth? Do they have pro

TABLE OF CONTENTS - National Zoo

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