Sika Deer 372787 219498386 2008-06-15T14:49:13Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Taxobox | name = Sika Deer | status = LR/lc | image = SikaDeerM1.jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Artiodactyla]] | familia = [[Cervidae]] | subfamilia = '''Cervinae''' | genus = ''[[Cervus]]'' | species = '''''C. nippon''''' | binomial = ''Cervus nippon'' | binomial_authority = [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1838 | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = ''C. n. dybowskii'' <br /> ''C. n. grassianus''<br /> ''C. n. hortulorum''<br /> ''C. n. keramae''<br /> ''C. n. kopschi''<br /> ''C. n. mandarinus''<br /> ''C. n. nippon''<br /> ''C. n. taioanus''<br /> ''C. n. yesoensis'' }} The '''Sika Deer''' (''Cervus nippon'') is a member of the deer family '''[[Cervidae]]''' that inhabits much of [[East Asia]]. It is found in mixed deciduous forests to the north, and mixed subtropical deciduous and evergreen forests to the south. The Sika Deer are closely related to [[Red Deer]], [[Central Asian Red Deer]] and [[elk]]. ==Distribution and races== Sika deer are found from the [[Ussuri]] region of [[Siberia]] south to [[Korea]], [[Manchuria]] and Northern and [[Southern China]], with a possibly isolated population in [[Vietnam]]. It is also native to [[Taiwan]] and [[Japan]] and were possibly introduced to some smaller western [[Pacific]] islands. The largest race of Sika deer (found in the colder north) are Dybowski's Sika Deer (''C. n. dybowskii'') of Manchuria and Ussuri Region, and the Hokkaidō Sika Deer (''C. n. yesoensis'') of Hokkaidō Island in Japan. The Kerama Sika Deer (''C. n. keramae'') of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] is one of the smallest, and unlike other subspecies, has the whole body (including the rump patch) dark brown. The Formosan Sika Deer (''C. n. taioanus'') is rather large for an island form being larger than the Kerama Sika Deer and similar in size to deer from [[Southern China]]. There are several geographically separated subspecies, but due to the long history of the velvet antler trade (for medicinal values) and farming of Sika deer for antler production in much of Turkestan, China, Mongolia, Manchuria, and the Ussuri Region, the integrity of these subspecies is questionable as many populations have already mixed gene pools. Other deer raised for antler trade were [[Thorold's Deer]] (Cervus albirostris), various [[Central Asian Red Deer]] (Cervus affinis) subspecies, and [[elk|Wapiti]] (Cervus canadensis) subspecies. Sika deer are known to escape deer farms and many of the so-called wild sika deer populations in Central and Southern China are descendants of those that have escaped and have re-established themselves in the wild. In Taiwan, both Formosan Sika Deer and Formosan [[Sambar Deer]] (Cervus unicolor swinhoei) have been farmed for velvet antlers. The only exceptions that may have integrity as a subspecies are possibly the Dybowski's Sika deer of Manchuria and Ussuri region, and the sika deer subspecies that survive in Japan, Ryukyu Islands, and Taiwan. Japan is the only country in Eastern Asia where sika deer were not farmed for velvet antler. [[Image:Cervus nippon dybowskii.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Dybowski's Sika Deer (''C. n. dybowskii'')]] Sika Deer are widespread in Japan, and readily become tame; at one time they were regarded as sacred. The largest wild populations are in the northern island of [[Hokkaidō]]. Following Japanese settlement of Hokkaidō in the latter half of the 19th century, the deer there were hunted almost to the point of extinction, and were reduced to a few small populations. Legal protection put in place in the mid 20th century was followed by rapid population recovery from the 1950s to the 1980s. In the absence of the natural predators ([[wolf|wolves]], now extinct in Japan), some [[hunting]] is now encouraged in order to stabilize the population and limit the agricultural damage done by the deer. The present Hokkaidō deer population is still concentrated in the eastern half of the island, and many deer that frequent other parts of the island migrate back to this area during the winter months. Deer are also present in the more populated islands of Japan: for example, in the ancient capital city of [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], as well as the sacred island of [[Miyajima]], they wander at will among the [[temple]]s, and are much photographed (and fed) by [[tourism|tourists]]. In other parts of Asia, the deer have also been extensively hunted, and legal protection has been less effective, so that several populations and subspecies are now [[endangered]]. [[Image:Cervus nippon taioanus.JPG|thumb|320px|right|Formosan Sika Deer (Cervus nippon taioanus)]] Sika Deer have been introduced into a number of other countries including [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[UK|Britain]], [[France]], [[Ireland]], [[Jolo|Jolo Island]] (south of the [[Philippines]]), [[New Zealand]], [[Poland]], [[Morocco]] and the [[United States]] (Maryland and Texas). In many cases they were originally introduced as ornamental animals in parkland, but have established themselves in the wild. In Britain and [[Ireland]] several distinct wild and feral populations now exist. Some of these are in isolated areas, for example on the island of [[Lundy]], but others are contiguous with populations of the native [[Red Deer]]. Since the two species [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridise]], this is a serious conservation concern, and in mainland Scotland biologists have contended that there are now no pure sika or Red deer left there, and that the two species have thoroughly and irretrievably hybridised. The same is thought to be true of sika and the remnant wild Red deer population in Ireland. [[Image:CervusHortulorumLyd.jpg|thumb]] Across its original range, and more intensively in many countries to which it has been introduced, the sika is regarded as a particularly prized and elusive sportsman's quarry. In Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe it has been noted that sika display very different survival strategies and escape tactics from the indigenous deer. They have a marked tendency to use [[camouflage]] and concealment in circumstances when Red deer, for example, would flee; and have been seen to squat and lie belly-flat when danger threatens in the form of human intrusion. Hunters and control cullers have estimated that the sika's wariness and "cleverness" makes it three or four times more difficult to bring to bag than a Red or Fallow deer. It has also been widely remarked that sika are much more tenacious of life, and harder to kill with a rifle bullet, than the native deer of Europe and North America. In the British Isles sika are widely regarded as a very serious threat to new and established woodlands, and public and private forestry bodies adopt policies of rigorous year-round culling, generally with little effect. Among aficionados of [[venison]], sika flesh is regarded as one of the very finest and most flavoursome of all [[game]] meats at the dinner table. ''Sika'' (しか or 鹿) ''{{Audio|Sika.ogg|listen}}'', [[romanize]]d ''shika'' in the [[Hepburn system]], is the Japanese word for ''deer'' in general. The full Japanese word for Cervus nippon is ''nihonjika'' (にほんじか or 日本鹿). Dybowski's sika deer (''Cervus nippon dybowskii'') and Formosan sika deer (''Cervus nippon taioanus'') are highly endangered and possibly already extinct in the wild. They can be found in several zoos and are being kept alive by a captive-management program. The [[Sitka Deer]] is a subspecies of [[Black-Tailed Deer]] and [[Mule Deer]] and therefore, a different species. ==See also== * [[Red Deer]] - European Red Deer * [[Central Asian Red Deer]] - Asian/Himalayan/Tibetan Red Deer * [[Elk]] - East Asian/North American Red Deer (Wapiti) * [[Thorold's Deer]] ==References== * {{IUCN2006|assessors=Deer Specialist Group|year=1996|id=41788|title=Cervus nippon|downloaded=12 May 2006}} * {{ITIS|ID=180696|taxon=Cervus nippon|year=2006|date=10 February}} *Igota, H., Sakagura, M., Uno, H., Kaji, K., Maneko, M., Akamatsu, R., & Maekawa, (in press). Seasonal patterns of female sika deer in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan. ''Ecological Research'', '''19'''. ==External links== {{commons|Cervus nippon|Sika Deer}} *[http://www.nzhuntinginfo.com/printPage.php?pageName=./game/sika Hunting Sika in New Zealand] {{Artiodactyla|R.1}} [[Category:Deer]] [[Category:Mammals of Japan]] [[Category:Mammals of Asia]] [[Category:Fauna of Ireland]] [[Category:Fauna of Delaware and Maryland|Deer, Sika]] [[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [[Category:Fauna of Korea]] [[Category:Fauna of Taiwan]] [[Category:Non-native fauna of the British Isles]] [[zh-min-nan:Mûi-hoe-lo̍k]] [[da:Sikahjort]] [[de:Sikahirsch]] [[es:Cervus nippon]] [[eo:Makula cervo]] [[fr:Cerf Sika]] [[id:Rusa Sika]] [[it:Cervus nippon]] [[lt:Dėmėtasis elnias]] [[hu:Szikaszarvas]] [[nl:Sikahert]] [[ja:ニホンジカ]] [[no:Sikahjort]] [[nn:Sikahjort]] [[oc:Cervus nippon]] [[pl:Jeleń wschodni]] [[ru:Пятнистый олень]] [[fi:Japaninpeura]] [[sv:Sikahjort]] [[zh-yue:梅花鹿]] [[zh:梅花鹿]]