those that are totally extinct, because this is true of it so far as its
wild state is concerned. It is a deer nearly as large as the red deer of
Europe, with 3-tined antlers about equal in total length to those of the
red deer. Its most striking differential character is its _long tail_, a
feature that among the deer of the world is quite unique.

Originally this species inhabited "northern Mongolia" (China), but in a
wild state it became extinct before its zoological standing became known
to the scientific world. The species was called to the attention of
zoologists by a Roman Catholic missionary, called Father David, and when
finally described it was named in his honor.

At the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, in 1900, there were about 200
specimens living in the imperial park of China, a short distance south
of Pekin; but during the rebellion, all of them were killed and eaten,
thus totally exterminating the species from Asia.

Fortunately, previous to that calamity (in 1894), the Duke of Bedford
had by considerable effort and expenditure procured and established in
his matchless park surrounding Woburn Abbey, England, a herd of eighteen
specimens of this rarest of all deer. That nucleus has thriven and
increased, until in 1910 it contained thirty-four head. Owing to the
fact that all the living female specimens of this remarkable species are
concentrated in one spot, and perfectly liable to be wiped out in one
year by riot, war or disease, there is some cause for anxiety. The
writer has gone so far as to suggest the desirability of starting a new
herd of David's deer, at some point far distant from England, as an
insurance measure against the possibility of calamity at Woburn.
Excepting two or three specimens in European zoological gardens that
have been favored by the Duke of Bedford, there are no living specimens