Scientific name:
Elaphurus davidianus

Natural spread:
China

the withers-height of the David-stag amounts approximately 115 cm, its weight 200 kg. The shape reminds of those of the red-stag. The long-stretched head shows a big pre-eye-gland. The neck is short, the tail almost is enough up to the heel and reminds of that of a donkey. The peel-hooves are far spread, the anus-claws touch the ground. When running, a crackling sound originates, like which the reindeers. The fur-coloring is pale-brown in the winter, in the summer brightly reddish-brown.

The antlers has directional branchings to the back. The first branching almost is as big as the main-pole, it forms in turn to the back pointing rungs. The antlers seems "turned."

Occurrences The David-stag, that lived in wetlands in China once, is in the wild since exterminated 1939. Only in human-hand, it survived.

Way of life Outside the Brunftzeit, the David-stag forms big herds. In the Brunft, a place-stag dominates a herd of several female animals.

Reproduction The Brunft takes place in June and Julys. The Tragzeit lasts approximately 270 days. In April becomes one or two calves placed.

Discovery and conservation The French Jesuit-father Armand David revealed the stag named after it to 1865 in the hunt-park of the Chinese emperor south of Peking. David had to bribe the park-station in order to be able to cast a glance over the wall. it considered the stag a type Rentier. As gift of the emperor of China, David-stags reached in the following years after France, England and Germany.

In England, the duke of Bedford took the trouble to go to bring together a herd sufficiently big for the further-breeding. Other breeders made its animals available for it. On its property of Woburn Abbey, it brought one through breeding soon increased, magnificent herd together. Existing continuances of the David-stag go back to all herds still today. Numerous zoological gardens and game-parks got breeding animals and increased the type further. Meanwhile, Milus are to be seen also again in China in the zoo of Peking.