Fun White Lipped Deer Facts For Kids

The white-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris) is also known as Thorold's deer or the Przewalskium albirostris belongs to the Cervidae family and genus Cervus. As the name suggests, this white-lipped deer has white lips and white-colored marking and patches around their muzzles. The antlers and other body parts of this deer are creamy and whitish and dark brown in color respectively. The antlers are only present in males and these antlers are five to six-pointed. The underside are white in color like the inner side of the legs. The habitat of these deer includes high altitudes and in forests like coniferous and rhododendron and are also known to inhabit alpine meadows of the Tibetan plateau. Males and females live in separate groups which are gender-based herds and only mingle or mix during the mating or the breeding time. The breeding or mating or reproduction time for these deers occurs in October and November. The gestation period lasts for about eight months and only the female takes care of the young one and the young one stays with the female for some time until it is weaned and then goes to a separate herd and the female one stays with its mother in the same herd but is not dependent on her. As these animals live in a herd, they are known to be quite social animals. The diet of these animals includes grass, herbs, and sedges. This deer is most active during the day. The Przewalskium albirostris is one of the largest deer species and the conservation status of this deer by IUCN is Vulnerable and these deers are endangered due to hunting and habitat loss.

It is interesting to know about this deer and if you are interested, read about Sambar deer facts and tufted deer facts too.

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What type of animal is a white lipped deer?

White-lipped deer is a species of deer.

What class of animal does a white lipped deer belong to?

White-lipped deer belongs to the class Mammalia.

How many white lipped deer are there in the world?

There is no exact number of white-lipped deer recorded.

Where does a white lipped deer live?

They are found in the grasslands or shrublands on the Tibetan plateau in China. The distribution in the  Chinese provinces includes Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Ghansu.

What is a white lipped deer's habitat?

These deers prefer high altitudes and inhabit forests like coniferous and rhododendron and are also known to inhabit alpine meadows of the Tibetan plateau. These are found at an elevation of about 3500-5100 m mostly in the summer and migrate to lower terrains in the winter season.

Who do white lipped deer live with?

These deers can be spotted in herds.

How long does a white lipped deer live?

This deer is known to live for about 16-18 years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season for these deers occurs around October and November and during this season or rut, males tend to mix or mingle with the females' herds, and otherwise, these deers are known to travel and be in sex-separate herds or groups. Males are known to be aggressive during the breeding season or rut and the males compete for accessing or approaching females. The birth of the young one or fawn takes place around May to late June and the young are not weaned for about 10 months. All the care, feeding, and other processes are only done by the females and not by both males and females. Although newborns are developed and can stand on their own they travel in female herds with their mothers for some time and after weaning, these join sex-separated groups. The young females are known to stay in the same herd or group with their mother but are not dependent on their mother.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of these deer by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is Vulnerable and is endangered due to hunting, poaching, and habitat loss.

What do white lipped deer look like?

As the name suggests, this deer has white lips and white around the muzzles. The underside of the throat, the underside of the body, and also the inner parts of the legs are whitish in color too. Their body is dark brown in summers and this brown color lightens during the winter season. The head is known to be darker than the body. The fur is thick and coarse and it lacks undercoat hair. On the center of this deer's back, the hair is in the opposite direction. The fur is longer in the winter season than in the summer. The hooves of this species are broad and rounded. Their hooves help these deers to climb steep and rough terrains. Females are known to have a bunch or cluster of hair or sometimes white hair between their narrow ears. The antler rack of the males is around five to six-pointed and is flat and extended outward or forward. The length of this animal is around 75-79 in (1905-2007 mm).

How cute are they?

These are not considered cute, although they might be deemed elegant.

How do they communicate?

Not much information is available regarding the communication of these animals but it has been observed that these animals tend to use tactile and chemical methods or cues to communicate.

How big is a white lipped deer ?

This deer is considered to be a large one and the length is around 75-79 in (1905-2007 mm).

How much does a white lipped deer weigh?

The average weight of this species of deer is around 309 lb (140 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

In general, males are referred to as stag or buck while females are referred to as doe.

What would you call a baby white lipped deer ?

In general, a baby deer is called a fawn.

What do they eat?

This deer is a herbivore and its diet includes grasses, herbs, and sedges and because of its grazing, it keeps the vegetation in its habitat in control. The grass includes stipa and kobresia.

Are they dangerous?

This species of deer is not considered dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

  This deer would not make a great pet as it is a wild animal, vulnerable and it is difficult to provide their habitat and manage this animal.  

Did you know...

The first description of this deer was done by N.M Przhevalsky or Przewalski in 1883 but it is known as Thorold's Deer because the first specimens were collected by G.W Thorold. The initial genus was named after Przhevalsky and the binomial name for it was Przewalskium albirostris.

A clicking sort of sound is produced when the Thorold's deer walk because of their hooves and this sound helps these deers in locating each other during heavy snowfall.

The Przewalskium albirostris, or Throrold's Deer, is known to be farmed in China and New Zealand for its antlers, and in China, these are kept in captivity because they are known to have medicinal properties. The antlers of these deers are different from that of other similar animals are creamy or white or sometimes pure white in color rather than dark shades.

The Thorold's deer can be found in various zoos around the world.

There is an interesting way in which females protect their fawns. To distract predators from their fawn, females will cause a disturbance and run away from the place where they have hidden the fawn.

The male is known to be only aggressive and competitive or have this behavior only during the time of breeding when a male fights to access females.

Thorold's deer or the Przewalskium Albirostris is also known as 'shor' by the Tibetan people.

It is a class I protected animal in China.

Threats and predators of these animals are humans, snow leopards, and gray wolves.

Are white lipped deer endemic?

The white-lipped deer is endemic to the Tibetan plateau.

Why white lipped deer is called so?

This deer is called white-lipped deer because of their white lips and white patches around the muzzle.

It is also believed that the species name, Albirostris, is derived from two Latin words, Albus that means white, and rostrum which refers to snout which together states or refers or means white lips and patches around the muzzle.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including alpine ibex facts or reindeer facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our White lipped deer coloring pages.

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