Water Deer

About this species

Size

85–115cm

Weight

16–21kg

Diet

Selective browser of herbs, forbs, grasses and woody plants

Habitat

Riparian cover, wetlands, grassland, shrubland, fields and forest edges

Range

Korean Peninsula and east-central China

Water deer are small, antlerless deer native to the Korean Peninsula and east-central China. Adults measure about 85–115 cm and weigh 16–21 kg. Both sexes lack antlers, while males carry conspicuous elongated upper canines. The Korean population is generally assigned to Hydropotes inermis argyropus, distinct from the Chinese nominate subspecies. The species' compact build and canine teeth make it unlike any other wild deer encountered in Korea (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture; Kim et al. 2022).

In Korea, water deer occur from lowlands into forest and use river margins, fallow patches, rice-growing landscapes, grassland and shrub cover. A Korean DNA metabarcoding study found strong seasonal and habitat differences in diet: lowland animals took more forbs and grasses, while forest animals ate more woody plants. Water deer are usually solitary, can swim between patches of cover, and give barking alarm calls. Korean landscape studies associate their habitat with connected forest and open-area edges (Kim et al. 2022; Korean habitat studies).

Description: Wildlife of Korea guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)