American elaphure

The **American elaphure** (*Elaphurus americanum* or *Cervus elephurus americanum*), also known as the **American Père David's deer**, is a species of deer that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the rainforests, wetlands, forests, and open woodlands across North America to help boost biodiversity. Based on genetic comparisons, both the American elaphure and Père David's deer are most closely related to the *Cervus* deer, leading many experts to suggest merging *Elaphurus* to *Cervus* or demoting *Elaphurus* to a subgenus of *Cervus*.

The adult American elaphure reaches a head-and-body length of up to 1.9–2.2 meters (6.2–7.2 feet) and stands about 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) tall at the shoulder. The tail is relatively long for a deer, measuring 50–66 centimeters (20–26 in) when straightened. Weight is between 135 and 200 kilograms (300 and 440 lb). The head is long and slender with large eyes, very large preorbital glands, a naked nose pad and small, pointed ears. The branched antlers are unique in that the long tines point backward, while the main beam extends almost directly upward. There may be two pairs per year. The summer antlers are the larger set, and are dropped in November, after the summer rut. The second set—if they appear—are fully grown by January, and fall off a few weeks later.

The animal's coat is reddish tan in the summer, changing to a dull gray in the winter. Long wavy guard hairs are present on and coat throughout the year, with the coat becoming woolier in winter. There is a mane on the neck and throat and a black dorsal stripe running along the cervicothoracic spine. The tail is about 50 centimeters (20 in) in length, with a dark tuft at the end. The hooves are large and spreading, and make clicking sounds (as in the reindeer) when the animal is moving.

A semiaquatic animal, the American elaphure swims well, spending long periods standing in water up to its shoulders. Although predominantly a grazer, the deer supplements its grass diet with aquatic plants in the summer.

The American elaphure has similar reproductive physiological mechanisms to other deer species living in temperate latitudes. These mechanisms aid in the adaptation to a high-latitude environment. The reproductive behavior in stags differs from hinds. In stags rutting behavior includes urine sniffing, anogenital sniffing, wallowing, and antler adorning. Mating behavior includes mounting and copulating. Communication behavior includes the spraying of urine and preorbital gland marking. The stags generally begin to rut before any signs of female sexual behavior. The reason to this is to establish a social rank among the stags. For Père David's deer the stag initiates the breeding season with the rutting. In hinds, estrous behavior includes urinating frequently, receptivity, and allowing the stags to mount. Parental behavior involves sniffing the calf, calling, and rubbing the face of the calf. The hind has a typical behavior of being solitary.

The gestation period is usually about seven months, after which a single offspring or twins are usually born; three offsprings are born rarely at the same time. The American elaphures are considered seasonal breeders because three out of four calves are born during April in captive European and American populations. The breeding season is 160 days with the mating season usually being in June and July. Calf weight, calculated using Robbins and Robbins equation, tends to be between 11.3 and 13.2 kg. The juveniles (referred to as either fawns or calves) have a spotted coat, as is commonly seen in most species of deer. They are known to develop very quickly after birth. They reach sexual maturity at about 14 months. The average lifespan of the American elaphure is up to 23 years.

The conservation status of the American elaphure is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts, the American elaphure's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities, including being able to adapt to life in the cities and suburbs.