New deer species discovered in Russia
The first information about the “roe deer with canine teeth”, or “swamp musk deer” came from a citizen of the village of Barabash, the southwestern Primorye, in August 2016. After that, rangers, frontier guards, hunters, and fishermen encountered this “strange hybrid” quite regularly.
Finally, in July 2019, inspectors of the Primorsky Province Wildlife Management Department and one of WWF specialists found the first evidence – a stuffed water deer. Its body was found in the Khasansky District most likely in winter 2018. Right away the stuffed animal is being studied by the scientists and staff of the National Park and WWF. They conduct DNA test, perform morphometric analysis, and examine the deer’s hair coat.