Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis)

One of six species of deer in Britain, introduced from China. The species is intermediate in size between muntjac and roe deer. They have large rounded ears, which are distinctive, and adult males have tusks rather than antlers. The species is found in the wetlands of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, with scattered sightings elsewhere, having escaped from Whipsnade Zoo after 1929. It prefers herbs to woody feed and does little damage to trees.

This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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