Water deer

고라니

The water deer is a small deer with no antlers; the male's long upper canines stick out of its mouth, earning it the nickname 'vampire deer'. It lives in reed beds, wetlands and the edges of fields along rivers. Vulnerable worldwide, it is common in Korea, home to most of the world's water deer.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Rivers, wetlands and fields of Korea
Diet: Plant eater (herbivore)
Weight: about 12 kg
Length: about 0.9 m
Lifespan: up to about 12 years
Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN VU)
Habitat: wetlands, grasslands

Quick answers

Where does the Water deer live?

It lives in wetlands, grasslands. On the globe you can find it near Rivers, wetlands and fields of Korea.

How big is the Water deer?

It grows to about 0.9 m and 12 kg.

What does the Water deer eat?

Its diet: plant eater (herbivore).

How long does the Water deer live?

It can live up to about 12 years.

Is the Water deer endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN VU).

The water deer, called gorani in Korea, is a small deer from Korea and China. It has no antlers at all. Instead, males have long upper canine teeth that stick out of the mouth like tusks, which is why some people call it the vampire deer.

It is rated Vulnerable around the world, but in South Korea it is common. A large share of all water deer, about 60 percent according to Korean Wikipedia, live there. It likes reed beds, wetlands and field edges near rivers. In Korea the animal is called gorani. Because of their numbers, water deer are a hunted species in Korea.

Body and tusks

An adult is about 90 centimetres long, around 50 centimetres at the shoulder and weighs about 9 to 11 kilograms. The coat is rough and yellow-brown on top, paler below. A male's tusks are roughly 6 centimetres long and are used when males fight in the breeding season. Its relatives, the roe deer, are close on the family tree, though the water deer once seemed so different that scientists gave it its own subfamily.

Life by the river

Water deer usually live alone or in twos to fours. In May a mother gives birth to one to three fawns that have white spots and stripes. The name Hydropotes means "water drinker", for the deer's love of rivers and marshes. Two subspecies exist: the Chinese and the Korean water deer. Wolves, tigers and leopards that once hunted water deer on the Korean Peninsula are gone, so deer numbers have grown.

Fun facts

It is Vulnerable worldwide, yet most of the world's water deer live in South Korea, where they are common.
Water deer have tusks, unlike all other living true deer.
A male's tusks are about 6 centimetres long.
Western scientists first described the species in 1870, through Robert Swinhoe.