The Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis), is a very small Asian deer in the Cervidae family, found in fertile Korean river bottoms, and near the Chang Jiang valley in China. They are the only species of deer in which males lack antlers, yet the Water Deer is armed with long, curved, sharp, canine teeth that poke out from the mouth.
The length of these canines can be over 2 inches (5 cm) long. The Water Deer is the only deer species that have inguinal glands. Water deer like to eat the dense vegetation that grows along the bottoms of the river—they consume a significant amount of coarse-fiber grass that serves both as food and as shelter.
Water Deer have standing shoulder heights between 1’6”-1’10” (46-56 cm), head-to-body lengths in the range of 2’6”-3’4” (76-102 cm), and overall weights of 20-30 lb (9-14 kg). The lifespan of a wild Water Deer is roughly 10-12 years.
The Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis), is a very small Asian deer in the Cervidae family, found in fertile Korean river bottoms, and near the Chang Jiang valley in China. They are the only species of deer in which males lack antlers, yet the Water Deer is armed with long, curved, sharp, canine teeth that poke out from the mouth.
The length of these canines can be over 2 inches (5 cm) long. The Water Deer is the only deer species that have inguinal glands. Water deer like to eat the dense vegetation that grows along the bottoms of the river—they consume a significant amount of coarse-fiber grass that serves both as food and as shelter.
Water Deer have standing shoulder heights between 1’6”-1’10” (46-56 cm), head-to-body lengths in the range of 2’6”-3’4” (76-102 cm), and overall weights of 20-30 lb (9-14 kg). The lifespan of a wild Water Deer is roughly 10-12 years.