Granddad’s Camera
Chinese water deer, as it appears in the game

No.044 · Mammals · Uncommon

Chinese water deer

Hydropotes inermis

A small, antler-less deer with a teddy-bear face and long tusks. Britain holds around a tenth of the world's population, with strongholds in East Anglia including the Broads.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn and dusk, all year. Rut in November–December; fawns born May–July.
Where in the game
the Norfolk Broads (fen, grazing marsh and reedbed)
Size
About 50–55 cm at the shoulder (British Deer Society)
Weight
Bucks about 11–18 kg (British Deer Society)
Lifespan
Up to about 6 years (British Deer Society)
Population
A very uncertain estimate of 3,600 in Britain (95% confidence interval 200–43,000; Mammal Society, 2018 review, lowest reliability score)
Status
Non-native in Britain; Vulnerable globally (IUCN)

Diet

Grasses, sedges, herbs and woody browse

Habitat

Reedbeds, fen, grazing marsh and farmland

Breeding

Rut November–December; fawning May–July, usually 1–3 fawns (up to 7 recorded); does can breed at one year old.

Field signs

  • Round ears, no antlers, long upper tusks
  • Small, neat cloven slots, smaller than a fallow's
  • Rutting bucks are vocal and fight with their tusks

Did you know?

  • Britain hosts about 10% of the world's Chinese water deer (British Deer Society).
  • Both sexes have tusks (shorter in does); a buck's can hang about 7 cm below the lip, far longer than a muntjac's (Mammal Society).
  • Does can breed at one year old, the youngest of British deer (British Deer Society).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Rut November to December, dawn and dusk
    A buck barks and squeals, chasing a doe across the marsh.
  • Fawns in the reeds May to July, dawn and dusk
    A tiny spotted fawn lies frozen in the sedge as its mother feeds nearby.

Rare forms and local legends

  • Black water deer A rare colour form, about 1 in 1000 sightings
    Only two melanistic Chinese water deer are known anywhere in the world, both in Norfolk: one in winter 2023–24 and one on a trail camera in October 2025.

Photo tip

Use a long lens at dawn from a fixed spot; expect a low sun and dew-lit reeds.

Be a good naturalist

Do not chase or approach; fawns are hidden in cover and should not be touched.

The law

Non-native, so not protected as a species, but the Deer Act 1991 (England and Wales) sets a close season of 1 April–31 October for bucks and does, and poaching is an offence.

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