Northernmost finding and further information on water deer Hydropotes inermis in Primorskiy Krai, Russia

Abstract

Abstract Although the water deer, Hydropotes inermis is one of the most common large mammals in South Korea (Republic of Korea), it had limited distribution along southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula and currently inhabits most of the peninsula after several releases in 1950s and 1960s. Currently, water deer was documented from Primorskiy Krai, Russia in the vicinity of northeastern border of North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). The first report was a camer trapped water deer in 2019 about 45 km from North Korean border and we found the older harvest record of water deer in 2014 about 210 km from North Korea. Although the North Korean government translocated water deer from the west coast to the northeast in the 1950s and 1960s, range expansion or dispersal of water deer was not reported until these records. Further research is needed to confirm if they represent whether it’s a persistent population or transient dispersers.