In grassy thickets, near lakes and rivers of Korea andAncient China, there are amazing animals. They dwell in dense reed beds and in green foothills. Few people know about their existence.
Everyone knows the image of a deer - handsome with sprawlinghuge horns on the head. In fact, there are absolutely no horns among them. About this form and will be discussed in this article. But first let's give general information about these animals.
The deer received its modern name from the Old Slavonic word "fool". So these peoples of ancient times called a slender animal with beautiful branched horns.
The growth and size of different species of deer stronglyare different. For comparison, we give the following example: the growth of the deer of the northern, with a length of 2 meters and a weight of 200 kg, is 0.8-1.5 meters; height and length of a small crested dog reaches only one meter, and weight - 50 kg.
The most slender is a noble deer. He has a proportional physique, with an elongated neck and a slightly slightly extended head.
In general, deer live in Europe, Asia and inRussia. Not bad, they also took root in America, in Australia and in Africa. The average life expectancy in nature is up to 20 years. In the farms of reindeer herders and in zoos, these animals live up to 30 years.
He refers to the family of deer.This representative is the only species from the genus of water deer. He does not have horns, but there are unusual fangs with which he can protect himself in case of danger.
Это животное не слишком большое:length of the body is 70-100 centimeters, the height of the deer at the withers reaches 50 cm, the mass of its body - from 9 to 15 kg. The tail has a length of only 8 centimeters. The upper lip is white, and around his eyes there are rings.
A good indicator of the age of the deer are teeth. Specialists in this field can accurately determine how old the animal is, according to the degree of grinding of the incisors and canines, according to their curvature and angles of inclination.
Water deer (photo - below) has a brown-brown coat color. In the summer, this animal sheds and the wool becomes short. In winter, it is fluffy and warm.
A distinctive feature of males are fangs,located in the upper jaw. And their length in adult males is about eight centimeters. With the help of facial muscles this animal is able to control these canines. Also, a hornless deer can hide them during meals. But when there is a danger or there is a struggle for the female, they again straighten them. In connection with the presence of such a feature, this animal was called a vampire deer.
The lifestyle of this animal is mostly daytime, this handsome man is very cautious.
From the crested eagle (the main enemy), water deerlearned to hide under the surface of the water. Feeling and hearing a predator, he rushes to the nearest canal with a running start, and, after swimming or running some distance along the bottom, tries to hide under the branches that hang from the shore, or under the driftwood. Above the surface of the water there are only ears, nostrils and eyes. This allows the deer to follow the enemy, most remaining inaccessible and invisible to the predator.
Why do deerless deer are called water deer?Because in natural natural conditions they live in river floodplains. Basically, these are the territories of the central and eastern parts of the Korean peninsula and the PRC (eastern part, north of the Yangtze valley).
Another water deer was brought to France and to the UK and perfectly suited in local climatic conditions.
In fact, these animals lead a single life, sometimes finding a pair only for the period of the rut.
In December, the gong of water deer begins.Males are fighting for the female, using their unique fangs, capable of ripping each opponent's neck. After such fighting, many of the males remain with terrible scars on the muzzle and neck. The sounds that deer communicate with each other are very similar to barking dogs, and when they mate they produce unusual clicking sounds.
Males of females are invited with a quiet whistle.Six months pregnancy lasts females. After the birth, the little deer hide for a few more days in dense bushes, and then begin to make forays with their mother.
Water deer, as noted above, is a solitaryanimal. He is a good swimmer, able to surmount many miles of water in the search for necessary food, swim from island to island in the deltas of rivers.
It should be noted that the males between the fingers have glands producing odorous liquid, which they often mark the territory.
As the main food, tender andsucculent leaves of shrubs, young grassy river and juicy sedge. There is harm from these animals. They cause great damage to agriculture, as they raid rice fields, thereby destroying together with weeds and cultural shoots.
