Author 丨Sun Ge
In the cold early December morning in Jilin Province, my guide, Brother Sun, and I stepped on the frozen snow shell one foot deep and one foot shallow through the forest of Wang Qing National Nature Reserve.
The forest of Mongolian oak, aspen and lime is very bright and easy to navigate; the acorn shells can be seen everywhere by kicking through the snow layer; the footprints of roe deer and wild boar crisscross the snow, occasionally interspersed with the "pin" shaped hoof prints of sika deer.
All of this suggests that this is one of the best wildlife habitats in eastern China. The automated cameras we put in also prove this – rare species such as tigers, leopards, lynx, brown bears and so on are showing up.
But there is one animal that has been absent, it is the largest herbivorous animal in this ecosystem, and the forest is not healthy without it.
"Got to the place!" Elder Brother Sun pointed to the empty space in front of him. The camera spot, which we discovered half a year ago, is the largest waterhole in the study area; the results of the first data recovery are surprising, with roe deer, wild boar, black bears and even the long-tailed forest owl family often bathing here.
If there are any large animals in this area that have slipped through the net, this point must be the last hope. It's been more than four months since the camera was last recycled, and the waterhole has long since frozen and there are no signs of recent animal patronage, but I can't wait to check the "harvest" on the spot.
Suddenly, a huge brown figure appeared in the thumbnail, almost covering half of the picture. My heart suddenly beat faster. That's right, this is the species of my dreams– the red deer.
The Northeast Red Deer, taken in 2012 by Wang Qing, Jilin (Copyright: Peking University) Photo taken in September, this buck who came here to drink water has four horns, indicating that it is at least three years old.
To be precise, it is the northeastern subspecies of the red deer (Cervus canadensis xanthopygus), known in English as Manchurian wapiti. This subspecies has the darkest rump spots of the Asian red deer , and the horns are significantly smaller than those of relatives in open habitats to adapt to forest life.
In the Russian Far East, the Northeast red deer is the most important prey of the Siberian tiger; but our automatic cameras captured the first (and only) pure wild Northeast red deer until five months after capturing the Far Eastern leopard, five months after capturing the Siberian tiger.
Not to mention that the red deer feed the tiger as a prey, even the red deer themselves are unable to protect themselves. In fact, not only the northeast red deer, but also the entire Chinese red deer, except for the Qinghai-Sichuan subspecies (white-rumped deer) sheltered in Tibetan Buddhism, has become scarce. This majestic animal, which is ecologically, culturally and economically important, may be leaving us.
Snow Behemoth
Red deer, as the name suggests, are deer as huge as horses. Red deer are the second largest species in the family deer in existence, after moose (the kind that destroys cars in Canada all day).
The largest of all subspecies, the Roosevelt red deer, can weigh up to 600 kg and can reach a shoulder height of up to 1.5 meters.
The common ancestors of red deer, sika deer and white-lipped deer appeared in the southwestern mountains on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China about 3 million years ago; among them, the sika deer that remained in temperate forests still maintains a primitive posture (small, adult with flower spots), the white-lipped deer specialized as plateau experts, and the red deer evolved in the direction of adapting to cold forests and grasslands.
The white-lipped deer of the new dragon
They are getting larger, both to withstand the cold and facilitate walking in deep snow, and on the other hand, their larger size also increases their ability to chew and digest, allowing red deer to feed on conifers and hard grasses that are not available to other small deer such as roe deer.
The sheer size also reduces the risk of hunting — apart from tigers and wolves, the two strongest killers in the animal kingdom, there are no more predators that pose a threat to adult red deer.
Taking advantage of their size and basing themselves in the southwestern mountains, the Red Deer Soldiers began their journey to occupy the Northern Hemisphere in three ways. A group climbed upwards in situ, but was blocked out of the plateau grassland by its distant relatives, the white-lipped deer, and eventually occupied only the habitat stagger between the alpine steppe and the lowland forest.
The second branch traveled westward through Central Asia into Europe and North Africa.
The third traveled north to Siberia and crossed the Bering Road Bridge of the Ice Age to Alaska, where it waited until the Ice Age mass extinction more than 10,000 years ago (an event in which giant beasts such as mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and sloths became extinct in a short period of time) before marching south to northern Mexico.
World distribution of red deer by subspecies (the distribution area layer is from the IUCN Red List, because the update time is earlier, which is different from the actual situation, such as the Tibetan red deer, Tarim red deer and Kashmir red deer distribution area has been reduced to several points, and there are no red deer in North China)
Red deer 和 Elk
Diverse body types and confusing classifications
Corresponding to the red deer's vast range is its highly diverse morphology – and extremely chaotic classification. There are two of the world's most authoritative mammal taxonomic information retrieval websites, one is the IUCN Red List, which is jointly approved by industry experts. The other is Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World.
Usually, the results retrieved by the two sites are exactly the same, or at least similar. But for Red Deer, the classification information of the two sites is very different.
In the latest edition of Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (third edition 2005), red deer from all over the world belong to the same species, Cervus elaphus; in the IUCN Red List, red deer are treated as three species. In addition to these two divisions, in recent years, literature based on molecular taxonomy and morphology has been published, raising new objections to the classification of red deer.
But whether the red deer are one, two, three or four species, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the European red deer at the westernmost point of the red deer distribution area and the North American red deer at the easternmost point of the red deer range look very different.
In terms of body size, the North American red deer is twice the size of the European red deer; morphologically, the North American red deer has a thick mane and obvious large buttock spots (the center of the ass is lighter than a large patch centered on the anus), a very short tail and a color of rump spots (that is, yellowish white).
Courtship long-roaring Canadian red deer, note the closed nostrils and upturned lips; Valerie photographs
European red deer have almost no mane, small and unclear rump spots, a longer tail and a color (reddish brown) on the back; when males sing love songs, European red deer growle with their mouths wide open, and North American red deer close their nostrils and growle with their teeth.
There is no good looking ass Image image is watermarked
Image source: www.martinacrossphotography.co.uk/
Courtship roaring European red deer, note the large open nostrils and lips that cover the gums
Arturo de Frias Marques 拍摄
When females pee, North American red deer stand normally while European red deer are half-squatting. In English, the earliest name of the red deer is "Red deer", because the red deer in Europe are all reddish brown.
When European colonists landed in the Americas in the 17th century, they did not believe that the huge North American red deer was the same kind of European red deer, so they used the name elk of the first giant deer in Europe, the moose, to call the North American red deer, and a new word Moose to call the local North American moose (just ask you if you are confused!). ）。
The North American red deer is now called elk
Image source: rapidcityjournal.com
A real giant moose moose
Image credit; https://estesparkoutfitters.com
Later, because Elk caused confusion between Europe and North America, Americans tried to promote the Shawnee Indians' name for red deer, Wapiti (meaning "white ass"), but it is still not accepted by the public.
On the Asian continent between Europe and North America, due to the barrier of alpine canyons and deserts, the red deer is more diverse, some close to the European red deer, some close to the North American red deer. Below we take the IUCN classification as the basis, combined with the latest research literature, to appreciate the amazing diversity of the red deer.
North American red deer clade
This taxon includes some of the most massive red deer subspecies in North America and East Asia. In addition to the large man and the large buttock spots, another notable feature is that the horns initially grow outwards, and when they reach the third fork, they turn backwards and grow upwards.
Because of the Bering Road Bridge, East Asian and North American red deer are more closely related than they are to central Asian red deer. According to numerous molecular taxonomy studies in recent years, the IUCN's classification system separates it as a species, Cervus canadensis.
Canadian Red Deer (C. c. canadensis ), which was exterminated after whites landed in North America, was later reintroduced into the United States. It inhabits open habitats at high altitudes in North America and has the largest horns of the red deer.
Canadian red deer, note that the lack of ice branches (the second branch) of the horn is not uncommon in the red deer.
The white or pale yellow rump spots are extremely wide and extend upwards all the way up to the lower back. Both male and female have thick manes that extend from the chin to the shoulder blades; especially winter hairs, with a black-brown head and neck and limbs, a light gray torso, and white rump spots make up a particularly beautiful patch of color.
Roosevelt Red Deer (C. Roosevelt). c. roosevelti), living in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific coast of the North American Northwest, the abundance of high-quality foliage makes it the largest red deer subspecies, and the understory life also makes its body color much darker than the Canadian red deer; but the perennial passage through dense forests also makes its antlers not grow too large.
Roosevelt Red Deer, Dan Dzurisin from Oregon
Its Latin name commemorates President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States (the one in Fantastic Nights at the Museum), who was a great advocate of nature conservation.
California Red Deer (C. California) c. nannodes), distributed in the grasslands and wetlands of California, the English name Tule elk, comes from a species of grass it likes to feed on, and is the smallest subspecies in North America.
California red deer, Austlee photographed from the Point Reyes Wildlife Sanctuary in California, USA, note that the horns grow upwards from the third branch.
Altai Red Deer (C. c. sibiricus), distributed in Siberia, northern Mongolia to the west to the Tianshan Mountains, is the largest subspecies in Asia. The coat color is predominantly gray. There are pale yellow rump spots.
Mongolia's Hustai National Park, the Altai red deer in September, has been replaced with winter fur at this time, becoming the standard "yellow-rumped gray deer". Israel Didham Photography, author-authorized
Alxa red deer (C. c. alashanicus), distributed in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, Helan Mountain is the easiest place to see them. The smallest and lightest-colored subspecies of this lineage, only the males have thick manes; the rump spots are yellow and white below, and do not extend upwards to the root of the tail, which is black rather than white like the hind waist.
Alxa red deer, note the two-tone hip spots on the upper orange and the white on the bottom and the narrow black edges on the periphery; Lin Jiansheng was taken from Helan Mountain; has been authorized by the author
Northeast Red Deer (C. c. xanthopygus), distributed in northeast China and the Russian Far East. The most primitive subspecies of this clade, its taxonomic status has been controversial. The body color is brown, and the rump spots are yellow or even bright orange (hence the nickname Yellow-rumped Red Deer); due to forest life, the horns are small.
Northeast red deer, note that the yellow rump spots extend upwards to the lower back, down to the thighs, tail and hip spots a color, which is the most important basis for us to distinguish red deer, sika deer and roe deer in automatic camera photos. 2012 Photographed by Wang Qing, Jilin (All rights reserved: Peking University)
Sichuan-Tibetan red deer branch
This group includes two subspecies of the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where the red deer originated. It is often referred to as "Shou" in English. This category is the most primitive in size. It inhabits alpine scrub that is difficult to navigate, so it is good at jumping and traveling.
Due to the short summers on the plateau, this group completely loses the reddish-brown summer hairs of other red deer, and even in summer it is gray; there are almost no manes.
Another feature is that the turn at the third fork of the horn is more abrupt; the North American red deer is a gradient, while the Sichuan-Tibetan red deer is a stiff angle; and the direction of the turn is from turning backwards to upwards, rather than turning from outward to upward.
Many studies have suggested that they should be independently of the basal taxa of the red deer, but the IUCN has combined them with the North American red deer into a single species.
White-rumped deer (C. c. macneilli), also known as Sichuan red deer. Distributed in western Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu, it is the most distinctive subspecies of red deer. Iron gray all over. The snow-white rump spots are small, and the periphery of the white rump spots is surrounded by a wide black border, especially the black of the upper edge extends to the back waist; the entire back of the tail is also completely black.
The white-rumped deer, taken from the Beijing Zoo in March 2016, notices its gray body and black edges outside the white rump spots, as well as the nearly right-angled upward bend at the third branch of the horn. The white-rumped deer has never been exhibited in foreign zoos, and has only been exhibited in domestic zoos such as Xining, Chengdu and Beijing Zoo.
Tibetan red deer (C. c. wallichii), the most legendary subspecies of red deer. The scientific community once thought they had become extinct in the 1940s.
But in 1987, several more individuals were found in Lhasa, and they began searching for wild populations. Initially, people searched along their historical distribution area, the southeastern edge of Tibet– Sikkim–Bhutan, but only sporadic individuals were found surviving in scattered habitats.
Tibetan red deer, Liu Weishi photographed from tibetan-like Uqi deer farm; note that white rump spots extend to the lower back and have no black borders; white tail; author authorization has been obtained
It wasn't until 1995 that a team of expeditions organized by George Schaller and the Tibetan Forestry Agency inadvertently encountered a large population of 200 in the Ooqi of Qamdo, Tibet, which the New York Times compared to the discovery of Vu Quang Niu in Vietnam the previous year, which showed its shock to the world.
Central Asian red deer clade
Includes several subspecies of Central Asia, known in English as Hangul. It is characterized by a narrow elongated white rump spot surrounded by a black border; there is almost no mane, the upper and lower lips are usually white, and the body color is gray. The IUCN has treated this taxon as a separate species since 2016, latin for Cervus hanglu.
Tarim Red Deer (C. h. yarkandensis), distributed in the forests along the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang. Summer hair is sandy brown, winter hair is gray, with a very pronounced black-brown dorsal midline. White rump spots extend to the lower back.
Tarim red deer, pay attention to the slim head shape, black dorsal midline and black edges outside the white rump spots; Jing Bin Yu photographed, has been authorized by the author
Central Asian red deer (C. h. bactrianus), distributed in Central Asia and northern Afghanistan, with a narrow white rump spot extending above the tail.
Central Asian red deer, note that the narrow white rump spots extend to the lower back; the horns, like the East Asian-North American branches, have a nearly 90-degree bend; and the tip of the horns, like the European branches, the main branches differentiate into small branches, forming a "crown"
Cathy from The Wilds Wildlife Park in the United States
Kashmiri red deer (C. h. hanglu), the rarest subspecies of red deer, is less than 200 remaining in The Dachigam National Park in Indian-controlled Kashmir and a small area to its south. The white rump spots are very small, but the tail is root, and the tail is black instead of white. Like the Sichuan-Tibetan red deer, the Kashmiri red deer have a gray body color without a brown color.
Winter-haired Kashmiri red deer, Tahirshawl from Dachigam National Park
European red deer branch
Distributed in Europe and North Africa, the true narrow red deer Cervus elaphus, but in order to distinguish it from the three major red deer branches native to the country, it is generally called "red deer" according to its English name Red deer.
The European red deer, the smallest, has a long tail, no dark mane, and is not obviously spotted on the buttocks. The horns also do not bend, and grow upwards.
Due to the long-term hybridization of red deer from all over Europe (including the United Kingdom) with other subspecies of red deer running from deer farms and even sika deer, the subspecies characteristics are no longer obvious. Authorities have a widely different division of subspecies of this branch, and it has been suggested that the subspecies of this branch be managed uniformly.
A European red deer in courtship roar, stig Nygaard from Denmark
Antlers and antlers
From the double horns of the most primitive chamois, to the three-pointed horns of primitive deer such as dolphin deer, sambar deer, and po deer, and then to the four branches of the sika deer (although the fifth branch can occasionally grow, but the Chinese folk have the saying "flower is not more than five"),the final standing at the top of the horn evolution of the deer subfamily of the deer family is the red deer.
The eyebrow branch and the second branch of the red deer horn are very close, so the Chinese folk have given the second branch (ice branch) of the red deer a special name called "the opposite door branch", which is also a way to distinguish between the horns of other deer such as red deer and sika deer.
The Chinese and English names of the main branches of the red deer horns are from Seton, Ernest Thompson (1909): Life-histories of northern animals: an account of the mammals of Manitoba A hand-drawn drawing of a North American red deer with 20 horns, noting that each horn has only 6 main branches, and the rest are small branches derived from the main branches
The most primitive Sichuan-Tibetan branch, the horn is dominated by the five-branched type; although the European branch is also a five-main branch, the top few main branches differentiate into a large number of small branches, forming a crown-like platform at the top of the horn, and the English called the corner crown "Crown" at the top of the European red deer horn composed of many small branches.
The horns of the European red deer (left) contrast with those of the white-rumped deer (right) of the Sichuan-Tibet branch. European red deer image source Liu Weishi was taken from a deer farm in New Zealand.
In the East Asian-North American clade, the antlers evolved the six-branched type, but the small branches were few or none, so the red deer horns of this branch, although large, did not look as complex and kaleidoscopic as the European red deer.
Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by huge and beautiful antlers, which is evident from the fact that people in Eastern and Western languages have invented special phrases to call each part of the antlers.
This Canadian red deer has standard six-branched antlers.
Image source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/38707
However, the obsession of Eastern and Western civilizations with antlers is not the same. In European and American cultures, the fascination with huge antlers gave rise to Trophy hunting, in which hunters (mostly nobles) traveled over the mountains to hunt ungulates with huge horns around the world, bringing their heads back and nailing them to the wall, larger and heavier than anyone's antlers, and more horns.
As the most huge deer with the largest horns, the red deer has become a hot target. This also led to the extinction of the Red Deer in Europe and North America.
Ironically, it was precisely because the trophy hunters established a connection with nature in the wilderness chase for behemoths, and did not want to lose such a majestic "opponent" as the red deer forever, which promoted the early nature conservation movement.
In the East, people are obsessed not with the antlers after growth, but with the antlers that have not grown - deer antlers. I don't understand the medical effects of deer antler velvet, but the red deer is the most farmed deer species in the world because of its huge horns. Moreover, people also crossed red deer of different branches with red deer and sika deer to produce better antler velvet (sika antler velvet is of good quality, and red deer antler velvet is large).
Deer antler refers to the young horns of unscalciated dense villi Image from Wikipedia
In order to supply the Asian market, numerous deer farms have sprung up all over the world. Modern deer farming has emerged in New Zealand, which is currently the country with the largest number of red deer breeding in Europe, as well as a large number of European and North American red deer hybrids.
Some red deer have escaped from their farms and bred in large numbers in new Zealand's wild, where there are no natural enemies, and have even been eliminated as invasive pests. North American red deer clades (northeast, Altai and other subspecies) are more cultured in Russia, China, Mongolia and South Korea. Other subspecies, such as the white-rumped deer and the Tarim red deer, are reared only in native Chinese deer farms.
The antlers of the Altai red deer change with age (the base below and the tip of the horn above): from right to left: 1-2 years old (1 cane, like a sheep's horn), 3-4 years old (three branches: eyebrow branch, fourth branch, sixth branch), 4-5 years old (four branches: eyebrow branch, third branch, fourth branch, sixth branch) taken from the museum of Hustai National Park in Mongolia
From right to left: 4-5 years old (four branches), 5-6 years old (five branches: eyebrow branches, ice branches, third branch, fourth branch, sixth branch), 6 years old and older (six branches). Photographed from the museum of Mongolia's Hustai National Park
A symbol of the wilderness
In addition to the above utilitarian factors, the deer itself occupies a place in the cultures of various countries. And unlike the sika deer in East Asia and the white-tailed deer in North America, which are often associated with gentleness, longevity, teenage girls, children, and other graceful factors, red deer represent masculinity wherever they are.
In prehistoric petroglyphs in the United States, Europe, and Siberia, red deer were important characters; the Lakota Indians blessed each newborn with a red deer tooth; and European nobles painted red deer motifs on their family's coat of arms. In British Columbia, Canada, there are Wapiti River and Wapiti Lake, named after red deer.
Red deer petroglyph photographed by Lon & Queta in Nevada, USA
Figure 20 Petroglyphs near the Vézéer River in southwestern France – five red deer swimming by Bernietaylor
The roar of male red deer when declaring territory and courtship every autumn, together with the howl of wolves, is recognized as the most representative of the natural sounds of the northern wilderness. And each subspecies of red deer roar has its own characteristics. The lion-like roar of the European red deer reverberates through layers of trees in the forest, while the North American red deer stand on the hilltop grassland and emit a sharp roar, and the power contained in it can be felt more than ten kilometers apart.
In the bitterly cold Morning of Mongolia in October, I stood in the valley of Hustai National Park, looking up at the distant mountaintop with a telescope; the cold wind blew like a knife in my hand, and I had to put down the telescope and put my hand into my pocket to warm up for a moment.
On the vast boulder-strewn meadow at the top of the hill, a male Altai red deer and six of its females graze leisurely. Spotting someone peeping, the buck looked up at us.
From this angle, its thick neck and upward curved horns can be clearly seen. I turned in the other direction, and in the canyon behind me, a herd of female deer was resting in the rocky bushes, gray winter furs blending in with the background, and yellow rump spots particularly conspicuous in the morning light.
The roar of the stags echoed throughout the valley, and the sound of the wind that whistled came from an unknown distance. Eight huge vultures rose slowly from behind the ridgeline and slid over the heads of the stag and its wives and concubines, and then their figures grew larger and larger, eventually skimming over our heads.
Everything seems to have remained unchanged. It was in the midst of this long roar that I realized that perhaps this was the ultimate value of the red deer to human civilization—the symbol of the wilderness.
Whether it is the European hunters who hunt down the giant horned bucks over the mountains, the Indian hunters who imitate the roar of the stags made of wood to guard the rabbits, or the East Asian farming peoples who collect the antlers, they are all impressed by their great shores, thus having more concern and nostalgia for the wilderness.
A herd of female deer in altai red deer, taken in October 2016 from Mongolia's Hustai National Park
In the process of writing this article, I am deeply grateful to Professor Liu Weishi of Northeast Forestry University for its strong support
Finally, I would like to recommend it to you, John Mueller's "Waiting for the Deer to Come"
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Audio credit: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/sounds-elk.htm; by Neal Herbert, recorded on October 23, 2013 from Yellowstone National Park, USA
The Roar of the European Red Deer; Audio Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/; Author: Jagru
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