Details
Hydropotes inermis
Water deer is a mammal associated with freshwater habitats and grasslands. It is herbivorous and usually solitary. Habitat change and human pressure make conservation attention important.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Its range is represented here by the Palearctic, where it uses freshwater habitats and grasslands. Mobile species may shift habitat use with season, breeding sites, or food availability.
Typical length 77-100 cm, weight 9 kg-14 kg. It has a hoofed ungulate body plan, with proportions shaped by its habitat and mode of movement.
It is most active around dawn and dusk and usually solitary. Spacing, group size, and visibility can change with season, feeding conditions, and breeding activity.
It is herbivorous. Food choice and foraging style are tied to life in freshwater habitats and grasslands, so movements often follow available food resources.
As a mammal, it gives birth to live young, and the mother nurses them in cover or within the social group.
Recorded scientifically as Hydropotes inermis. Habitat change and human pressure make conservation attention important. In this guide, size, habitat, and activity pattern are useful first clues for recognition.
