"Pere David's Deer" are a "threatened" species native to China that was once extinct in the wild but is now making a comeback. A sprinkling of private breeders like Cindi Darling of Sparta, Mo., are working to continue increasing the exotic animal's population.

Attempts to describe the deer include many comparisons: they have the neck of a camel, the hooves of a cow, the tail of a donkey and the antlers of a stag.

"Pere David's have a body that's shaped similarly to a donkey, with a tail that ends in a black bush, longer than the tail of any other species of deer," says Darling from her "Liar's Lake Breeding Farm." "They have a long slender neck unlike most other deer, and the head is sometimes described as being like a horse. The hooves make a clicking sound when walking, and the male's uneven antler tines point backwards."

Only the males carry antlers, and they may produce two sets per year, she adds. The coat is reddish tan in summer (with a dark dorsal stripe), and changes to dark gray in the winter. These animals weigh between 300 and 450 lbs.

Pere David's don't act like other deer, either, according to Darling. They prefer marshland, spending much of their time wading and swimming in the water, and eating water plants, but they will also consume pasture grasses.

"They're so unusual, and with not that many around, it's gratifying to breed them," Darling says. "They're not exactly pretty, sleek or cute, but they are charming to be around and quite calm. I just think they're cool."

When Father Armand David, a naturalist from the west, discovered this Chinese animal in 1865, it had already been wiped out in its natural habitat. The Emperor of China was raising the only remaining animals in his private hunting reserve in the Forbidden City.

Fortunately, he had given a few small groups of the animals to several European countries as gifts because later, when struck with floods and famine, his own captive group perished. The only herd to survive was one in England. It flourished and as a result, in the 1980's, the deer were re-introduced to the wild in China, where they have been reestablishing.

Darling has only recently added Pere David's Deer to her large menagerie of exotic animals, and currently has five. She's expecting more offspring this year.

A much larger herd can be found at McRoberts Game Farm in Nebraska, where 80 head live.