Animal Behavior: The Pere David's Deer is very fond of water. They will wade up to their shoulders in the water and also swim. These herding animals are very social and live in large groups with the exception of prior to and following mating when males will leave the group. Females remain in social groups throughout the year.

Eating Habits: Elaphurus davidianus are herbivores and their diet consists of mainly of grasses. During the summer they will eat aquatic plants.

Range: The historic range of Elaphurus davidianus was northern and east-central China. Wild specimens disappeared from the area sometime around 200 A.D., but because a captive herd was maintained in the Imperial Hunting Park, the species survived.

Conservation Efforts: Elaphurus davidianus is critically endangered by the IUCN and is listed as Extinct in the wild.

Animal Facts: The average lifespan status in captivity is 18 years. Average number of offspring in 1, with an average birth weight of about 11 kg. In 1865, Pere Armand David, a French missionary, discovered the deer in the Imperial Hunting Park, Nan Hai-tsu Park, near Peking they were believed to be the only surviving members of the species. In 1997 an estimated 671 deer were surviving in the wild in China.