Rare Chinese Tufted Deer

Rare Chinese Tufted Deer LIVESTOCK Exotic Animals One of the world s most unusual varieties of deer is the Western Chinese Tufted Deer which Jon Wesley Conley and his family raise on their Tennessee game farm
    They originate in the remote Sechuan Mountains in China the same place as the Giant Panda They get their name from the tuft of hair on their forehead which is blackish brown and may grow up to 7 in long The tufts sometimes completely hide the males small delicate antlers
    The rest of the body is covered in coarse spine-like hair that s dark grey or chocolate brown and white and appears shaggy
    The natural habitat of the tufted deer is high valley jungles and mountain forests in China ranging from 1 000 to 15 000 ft and always close to water but Conley says they do very well on his family s operation where they currently have six of the deer
    Chinese Tufted Deer are usually solitary animals but are sometimes seen traveling in pairs They re most active at dawn and dusk and look similar to a white-tailed deer in the way they hold their tail up when fleeing from danger but it flops down with every bounce making it difficult to follow their progress Males and females both make a barking sound when alarmed and they seldom leave their home range
     Adult tufted deer are 20 to 28 in tall at the shoulder and females weigh up to 110 lbs Conley says In captivity they live at least 15 years but very little is known about them in the wild
    Tufted deer usually produce one offspring per year but occasionally twins are born
    Like most deer they re browsers and grazers The Conleys supplement their feed in winter with various types of hay
     I find them so beautiful to watch especially in the wintertime because they re so shiny he says
    There are only about 72 tufted deer in North America right now and only two were born in zoos last year
     I d like to see some private owners raising these animals and building up their numbers he says This spring I ll probably have 2 pairs for sale at $5 000 per pair but I m always willing to loan breeding animals out to people with an arrangement to split offspring if they have proper facilities
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jon Wesley Conley 637 Conley Road Alamo Tenn 38001 cell ph 731 343-5180; fax 731 696-2400; jwconley637@yahoo com; www tennesseesafaripark com

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