Gusting winds and heavy rain dominated the weather over the Christmas period while the new year brought freezing temperatures. I definitely prefer it to be cold and dry, especially when the countryside is magically transformed with a peppering of Crystal white fur. It is also a relief not to have to plough our way through the drudgery of churned-up mud everytime we go out for a dog walk. I’m sure our dog feels the same too!

We have hardly heard any Owls calling to declare their breeding territories for the coming season while out on our night walks through Rushmere Park this winter, just the occasional guttural barks of the Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) and Chinese Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis). We sometimes see the latter in the day across the Parish, alone or in small groups.

Chinese Water deer are special. They are often called Teddy Bear Deer because they have large round ears, black noses and black button eyes. They don’t grow antlers but can have tusks that grow up to 7cm. They originally came from Eastern Asia and were released in the UK from Woburn Park and maybe Whipsnade Zoo in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is rumoured that civil servants often forgot to close the Woburn Abbey gates over the war period after they returned from a revelrous night out.

Due to over hunting and loss of habitat they are now on the critically endangered list in Asia but in the UK it is estimated there are 3-4,000, 40% of the world’s population and some of these are in the Brickhills!  Scientists have also tested the UK Chinese Water Deer’s DNA and found it to be from an ancestral lineage that is now extinct in their native country of China. This makes the UK Water Deer more genetically diverse and an important group to aid in a reintroduction program in Asia. It is also thought that Chinese Water Deer are possibly one of the most primitive living examples of the Cervidae family. So maybe we should celebrate this particular deer species found in our local area as they are rare worldwide and worthy of our protection.

Figures of their population can be found at
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/210193/chinese-water-deer-introduced-uk-valuable/

Julie Cuthbert
January 2025