What is the species of "Daddy David Deer" in Wubang Temple in England?

Beffort, a duke of England, was very interested in deer. The first 1 1 Duke Ren Beifu raised 18 "Daddy David Deer" in his Wubang Temple. What species are they?

In fact, the so-called "Elk Dad" is a unique species in China-"Elk". So, how did these eighteen elk cross the ocean to come to England? This has to start all over again. ......

Distribution map of ancient elk

Wetland species endemic to China Plain If you have been to Elk Garden (yes, the full name is "Beijing Elk Ecological Experimental Center", which is located in Daxing District of Beijing, between Jiugong, Yinghai and Yizhuang, and surrounded by Nanhaizi Country Park), I wonder if you have listened to Song Yuan, a popular science teacher.

Whenever Teacher Song explains elk to everyone, the opening remarks must be "Elk is a unique wetland species in China Plain". Today, we will talk about this unique species of plain wetland in China-Elk.

2 million-year-old living fossil Speaking of elk, let's talk about its origin first. Elk, like giant panda, is a unique species in China. In other words: Since ancient times, you can't see this kind of animal outside the borders of China. The development of elk is similar to that of us, and it has been around 2 million years. Since ancient times, it has lived in the wetlands in the eastern plain of China, reaching Liaoning in the north and Hainan Island in the south. Elk, like other deer, is a deer, but it is different from other deer in ecology and morphology.

The biggest difference between elk and other deer is its horn. Antlers are organs that fall off periodically, usually once a year, and then grow again after falling off. Unlike other deer, elk's horns fall off from winter to around every year and grow again in early spring. For the ancients in China, seeing the growth of elk horn means that a hard and cool winter has passed, and spring has returned to the earth and flourished.

Such a symbol of good luck, the ancient royal family will naturally not let go. Since Shang and Zhou Dynasties, elk has been regarded as a royal sacrifice and a royal prey by emperors at that time, and kept in royal gardens. Since ancient times, there have been two idioms in China: "Who wins and who loses" and "Who wins the Central Plains". The deer among them is actually our elk, which means that whoever wins the elk can win the world, and the elk has become a symbol of imperial power.

The last elk-Nanyuan Royal Hunting Park is a pity. Because the area where the elk lived since ancient times is highly coincident with the ancients in China, this kind of deer has a mild temper. By the last generation of the Qing Dynasty in China, all the milu deer were extinct in the wild, and only the last population was kept in Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden, the royal hunting garden of the Qing emperor. Today's Elk Garden is a part of the original Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden, with an area equivalent to 3‰ of the original Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden.

Elk Going to the World 1865 A French priest named armand David came to China to preach. This priest is not simple: he is not only a priest, but also a naturalist. Father David came to China, and after preaching, he began to explore everywhere. I heard that there is an animal in Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden, commonly known as "four unlike", so I quickly went to find out.

As a result, he found that he had never seen such an animal before. As soon as he was happy, he bribed the guards in Nanyuan, bought two sets of specimens of elk horns, skins and bones, and shipped them back to the Natural History Museum in Paris, France. It was identified by Miller Edward, a zoologist in the museum at that time, and it was found that this deer was a new species not found in animal taxonomy at that time. It can be said that this move by Father David opened the door to the world for the elk, and therefore, the elk was crowned with the name of Father David Deer, whose English name is Father David Deer.

Father armand and David.

Ever since Father David discovered the elk, Europeans have been very interested in it. They transported some live elk to Europe in various ways.

1900, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled Beijing. Just before and after this, there were several floods in the Yongding River system in Beijing. So, on the premise of war and famine, the elk became extinct from China. Thanks to the elk that was sent to Europe alive, this species has avoided extinction.

But the elk living in Europe at that time were not happy. They are kept in zoos, and their limited living conditions lead to a very low fertility rate. Elk is in danger of extinction.

Wubangsi manor

Duke Bever's Wubang Temple There was a duke named Bever in England who was very interested in deer. When 1 1 Duke Ren Beifu heard the story of the elk, he spent a lot of money to buy all the elk scattered in European zoos at that time, which was the only one left in the world at that time, and put them in his Wubang Temple manor. Qi Huangong is very wise. Elk is kept in his temple of five states. He can wander around and forage everywhere and live happily. Under this condition, the species of elk can be preserved. At that time, Qi Huangong bought 18 elk, of which only 12 has the function of reproduction, that is, all the elk you see in the world today are descendants of this 12 elk.

The 11th Duke of Belfo

During the Second World War, due to the bombing of the British mainland, the Duke of Beffort sent the elk to other places to prevent this species from becoming extinct in Britain. But at that time, the elk were not sent back to China. Because of this, I think everyone who has read the article must understand that this is also a place full of wars, and sending it back is tantamount to dying.

Until 1985, 14, the Duke of Bedford (then Marquis of tavistock) finally signed an agreement with the governments of China and Beijing to send the elk back to China, Beijing and Elk Garden, which once disappeared.

Elk return to the motherland

It has been nearly 33 years since the elk returned to the motherland. In these 33 years, elk have developed well in China. First of all, it is not only the Elk Garden, but also several large elk protected areas such as Dafeng in Jiangsu and Shishou in Hubei. The existence of these protected areas has greatly increased the number of elk. In addition, in recent years, some milu deer have been completely released artificially or artificially, and these released milu deer are also tenacious in the wild.

Elk, from 1 1 8 rescued by the Duke of Beffort, has grown to more than 6,000 in China alone, and has a stable wild population. It can be said that with the joint efforts of Chinese and foreign scientists and people of insight, the project of releasing elk is the most accurate and successful in the world. Elk, it's saved!