Père David's deer

Père David's deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Class	Mammalia
Sub-class	Theriiformes
Infra-class	Holotheria
Order Information
Superorder	Preptotheria
Order	Artiodactyla
Sub-order	Ruminantia
Family Information
Superfamily	Cervoidea
Family	Cervidae
Sub-family	Cervinae
Tribe Information
Tribe	Cervini
Genus Information
Genus	Elaphurus
Species Information
Species	E. davidianus
Population statistics
Population	2,000+
Conservation status	Extinct in the wild Captive-bred/managed

Père David's deer or milu (Elaphurus davidianus) is a species of deer originally native to the subtropical marshland areas of China. Known to western science through the findings of Catholic missionary Armand David in the 19th century, Père David's deer was known only through captive herds; subsequent disasters such as the Boxer Rebellion left remaining animals alive only in foreign reserves. A slow, yet effective breeding program would see a return of the deer to China beginning in the mid-20th century.

Habitat

Père David's deer live in low-lying grasslands, often associated with freshwater marshes where it spends a large amount of time in the water, eating reeds and bush leaves.