312 WILD BEASTS OF THE WOKLD 



mefthistopheles) is not much bigger, and is noteworthy as being the 

 only ruminant which has no tail at all. 



THE ROE 



(Capreolus caprea) -"' 



Although an Old-World Deer, ranging from Great Britain to the 

 Caucasus, this species is more nearly allied to the American types 

 just described. It is a small animal, little over two feet at the shoulder, 

 with long ears and a very short tail ; the legs are long and the build 

 very graceful. The buck's horns are seldom a foot long, rough in 

 the beam, and carry three points, but have no brow-tine. The coat is 

 red in summer, grey with a white patch on the stern in winter; the 

 fawns, of which there are two at a birth, are spotted as usual. 



The Roe is found solitary and in pairs or families, and is a wood- 

 land animal ; it is a most graceful creature, and is often kept as a pet 

 on the Continent. The buck, however, in spite of his small size, is 

 a very dangerous animal. It is only nowadays found in the northern 

 parts of Great Britain, and does not thrive so well in parks as our 

 other Deer. In Siberia its place is taken by a much larger Roe {Capreolus 

 fiygargus), which may be as big as a Fallow-Deer, and often migrates 

 in large herds. 



THE WATER-DEER 



{Hydrelaphus inermis) 



This curious Deer, which agrees with the Musk-Deer in having 

 long upper canine tusks in the buck instead of horns, seems to be 

 allied to the Roes. It is a small animal, less than two feet at the 

 shoulder, and light brown in colour. The fawns are spotted, but not 

 very distinctly; a great peculiarity of the animal is the number of 

 them it produces at a birth — from three to six — thus showing a pro- 

 lificacy unrivalled among ruminants. 



The Water-Deer is found in Eastern China, where it lives in the 

 long reeds by the water-side, and on river islands; it swims readily, 

 and has a bounding action when on land. Its venison is only 

 moderately good, or it might be a good subject for acclimatisation, 

 especially as it does well in our climate, though seldom imported. 



