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Hybrid Deer

A species of deer that has been extinct in its native China for almost 100 years is showing great potential for the New Zealand deer industry.

The Pere David deer survived disaster at home thanks to the Duke of Bedford, who collected animals from European zoos, and bred them up. It's possible the world population of about 2000 deer descend from as few as three individuals.

They are early breeders, mating in December compared with New Zealand red deer, which mate around April, and also have a longer pregnancy, about seven weeks longer than red deer. The potential value of hybridisation has long been recognised by the New Zealand deer farming industry, because of the possibilities of bringing the breeding season forward and improving growth rates.

Natural hybridisation between Pere David and red deer had been recorded in Europe, but the two species showed no interest in each other at mating in New Zealand. A number of successful hybrids were produced by artificial insemination (AI). Although pregnancy rates were low, the hybrids have proved to be very fertile, and these are now being used to breed quarter hinds by natural mating and AI.

Some of these quarter breeds have already been studied, and Invermay is now in a position to produce more quarters. Pregnancy was 18 days longer in these quarter hybrids monitored at Invermay than in red deer, but the hybrids were on average 12 percent heavier at birth, and grew considerably faster, particularly over spring and summer. By 15 months of age, they were 28 percent heavier than the red deer. Data collected so far also show the first cross hybrids have a markedly advanced antler cycle compared with the red deer, with hard antler castings about 60 days earlier.

And while the hybridisation programme offers potential, the Pere David hybrids are also proving to be extremely interesting models for scientists. From a genetic point of view, the difference between the Pere David and other deer species is very marked. Red deer and Pere David are probably the most genetically dissimilar large mammals that can produce fertile male and female hybrids.

This extraordinary capacity for hybridisation has many implications, and is proving very useful for comparative gene mapping, which involves looking at the location of genes on the chromosomes of different species.

Invermay's gene mapping programme is looking at protein and DNA variation in blood components in the pure and hybrid deer, then studying the way the quarter Pere David/three-quarter red hybrids inherit these genes from their parents.