Père David's deer

Père David's deer is a large deer native to China, recognizable by its long tail, broad hooves, and distinctive antlers. It became extinct in the wild in the early twentieth century and survived through captive breeding.

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China: A country in East Asia with a long history and diverse landscapes. The deer’s native range and the historic imperial herds were in China.
Antler: A branched bony structure grown and shed annually by most male deer. Père David's deer have unusually shaped antlers, with the main beams curving backward.
Extinction in the wild: A conservation status in which a species survives only in captivity or outside its former range. Père David's deer lost all wild populations before captive breeding secured its survival.
Nanhaizi Imperial Hunting Park: A former imperial enclosure south of Beijing where Père David's deer survived in captivity. The park held the last known Chinese herd before flooding and unrest ended it.
Nanhaizi Milu Park: A Beijing wildlife park established to conserve Père David's deer. It became the site of the species’ return to China after captive herds expanded abroad.
Hoof: A hard keratin covering that protects the ends of certain mammals’ toes. Its broad, splayed hooves suit the deer to marshy ground.
Captive breeding: The planned reproduction of animals under human care to maintain or increase populations. A small European herd expanded into the population from which the species recovered.
Ducat of Bedford: Herbrand Russell, the eleventh Duke of Bedford, who assembled a breeding herd at Woburn Abbey. His herd consolidated the surviving deer imported from European zoos.
Peking: The former English name for Beijing, China’s capital. The deer’s last Chinese captive population was maintained near Peking before its disappearance there.
Wetland: Land saturated with water seasonally or permanently, supporting aquatic and terrestrial life. The species’ native habitat included marshes and floodplains.