Sunday, 7 November 2010

Chinese Water Deer

An early morning stroll around Woodwalton Fen, an area near Peterborough produced a few birds, not the hoped for Bearded Tits that have been seen recently, but I heard a Cetti`s Warblers` explosive song and got very good views of at least 4 Chinese Water Deer.

This species of deer originates from Asia and was introduced into Britain in the 1870`s, but escaped from the parks in which it was kept and has gradually bred and a thriving population is now present in the east of Britain. The deer in its` native country is becoming increasingly scarce and apparently we now have a quarter of the worlds population in our country!


Digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30
Posted by at
Labels: ,

12 comments:

  1. The Blogger Formerly Known As7 November 2010 at 16:54

    Maybe we can sell a few of them back? Do them a special deal. Buy one, and get a grey squirrel free?
    The enigmatic, masked blogger

    ReplyDelete
  2. bazza7 November 2010 at 20:05

    Deer are so hard to spot, I find, being naturally very shy. A deer ran beside my car as I was driving through Epping Forest a few years ago and then disappeared just as suddenly. I think it was a Fallow Deer but I was thrilled beyond words.
    Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

    ReplyDelete
  3. John7 November 2010 at 20:38

    Do you know, that`s not a bad idea! We could start with the umpteen that inhabit my garden!
    ;)
    J

    ReplyDelete
  4. John7 November 2010 at 20:41

    I have been quite lucky recently, having seen Roe, Muntjac and these Chinese Water Deer, plus the Red Deer in Scotland earlier in the year. I think it`s a case of being in the right place at the right time and being down-wind of the deer!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mustang Sally8 November 2010 at 00:41

    What an interesting looking critter. I've not seen one of these before. Looks almost as much like a sheep as a deer, at least the deer I'm used to.

    Blends right in with the tall grasses, I'll bet they're hard to spot. Nice job to get him to pose against the green background for you with the tall grasses framing him so prettily. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sam8 November 2010 at 01:46

    Wow I've never seen one of those before. Prettyyyyy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. John8 November 2010 at 20:20

    Thanks Sally! The pose was more by luck than judgement!
    They are funny looking animals, they almost look `fluffy`, if that makes sense?!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  8. John8 November 2010 at 20:22

    If you take a close look at the mouth Sam you will see some rather sharp looking tusks, showing a more `basic` breed of deer, but admittedly they are quite `cute`!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  9. klahanie8 November 2010 at 23:14

    Greetings John.
    I had no idea about the Chinese water deer. This is a fascinating article with a wonderful photo to accompany it. A rather strange looking creature, but rather cute, nonetheless.
    Thanks for sharing.
    In kindness, Gary.

    ReplyDelete
  10. John9 November 2010 at 07:16

    Thanks very much Gary, it never ceases to amaze me what wonder we have in nature.
    Thanks again,
    J

    ReplyDelete
  11. lettucehead12 November 2010 at 04:35

    Amazing! You should post more often.

    ReplyDelete
  12. John13 November 2010 at 10:53

    Thanks Lettuce Head. I have been finding it hard to get out and about just lately, but will endeavour to do more!
    J

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my humble blog.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)