From Extinction to Abundance: The Miraculous Return of China’s “Four-Unlike” Deer
Wandering gracefully through the coastal wetlands of eastern China, herds of Père David’s deer now thrive in the hundreds — a stunning comeback for a species that once vanished from the wild entirely.
Ancient Chinese texts describe this unusual animal as a creature made from mismatched parts — the antlers of a deer, hooves of an ox, face of a horse, and tail of a donkey. Once thought to exist only in legend, this peculiar deer was hunted to extinction in the wild more than 125 years ago.
But its story didn’t end there.
A Journey from Near Oblivion to Revival
In the late 19th century, the few remaining Père David’s deer survived only in captivity — not in China, but in faraway Europe. British aristocrat Herbrand Russell, the 11th Duke of Bedford, rescued several from the Berlin Zoo and began breeding them at his estate, Woburn Abbey.
His efforts preserved the species long enough for a remarkable homecoming a century later. In 1985, the duke’s great-grandson, Robin Russell, the 14th Duke of Bedford, donated 39 deer to China as part of an official reintroduction initiative. The animals were released into a former imperial hunting ground near Beijing — transforming what was once a royal killing field into a sanctuary for life.
A second release followed in 1986, when 36 more deer from five UK zoos were sent to China. From fewer than 100 individuals, the population has soared to around 8,200, expanding at an impressive 17% annual growth rate. Even more astonishingly, the herd shows no signs of harmful inbreeding, despite descending from such a small founder group.
Today, all Père David’s deer roaming China trace their lineage back to those early Woburn animals. Across vast protected areas such as Tianezhou and Dafeng, the species now enjoys hundreds of square kilometers of restored marshland habitat. Plans are even underway to reintroduce them to truly wild landscapes, where they will once again face natural predators and the challenges of survival.
The Legend of the “Four-Unlike”
In Chinese culture, the deer is known as “sì bù xiàng” — meaning “the four unlikes” — a nod to its blend of features from four different animals. This name is rooted in an ancient legend that has been told for over 3,000 years.
According to the tale, during the reign of the tyrant King Zhou of Shang, a horse, donkey, ox, and deer retreated into a forest cave to meditate. On the day the cruel king executed his loyal minister Bigan, the four animals awoke, transformed into humans, and learned of the king’s brutality.
Determined to stop him, they fused their strengths into a single mystical creature — swift as a horse, strong as an ox, sure-footed as a donkey, and agile as a deer. They journeyed to the Kunlun Mountains to seek guidance from the Primeval Lord of Heaven, who was astonished by the sight of such an extraordinary being.
“It is unlike any of the four!” he declared.
Moved by their purpose, the Lord blessed the creature and sent it to aid the sage Jiang Ziya, who rode it into battle against King Zhou. Their victory marked the fall of the Shang dynasty and the rise of the Zhou dynasty, one of China’s great historical eras.
A Modern-Day Symbol of Renewal
Today, the Père David’s deer — once thought lost forever — has become a symbol of environmental restoration and cultural pride in China. From extinction to abundance, its journey mirrors the growing harmony between people and the natural world — a reminder that with care, even the rarest species can find their way home again.