On this page we’ll share a list of endangered deer species and threatened deer around the globe. Deer become endangered and threatened for a variety of reasons, but the primary culprits are loss of habitat and over-hunting.
Conservation efforts are varied, but the one truth is that proper conservation of deer species relies on good information, which relies on research. Some species of deer that are isolated to remote islands simply have not been studied enough for adequate conservation work to be undertaken.
Other deer that have gone extinct in the wild have actually been preserved thanks to domesticated populations, which were re-introduced to their native habitat. The Pere David’s Deer is a great example of this.
About Endangered and Threatened Classifications for Deer
The World Union of Conservation Scientists, commonly known as the I.U.C.N. lists all threatened species and subspecies, and classifies them in relation to how threatened they are.
The classification used in order of severity is as follows:
- Not threatened,
- Conservation dependent,
- Vulnerable,
- Endangered,
- Critically Endangered,
- Extinct in the Wild, and finally
- Extinct.
These classifications give an indication of the likelihood of a species becoming extinct in the near future.
The following table lists those deer species which are classified as being threatened with extinction by the I.U.C.N. and to which group they belong.
| Threatened Classification | Type of Deer |
| Critically Endangered Deer Species | Pére David’s Deer |
| Endangered Deer Species | Calamian Deer Kuhl’s Deer Philippine Spotted Deer Sika Deer Mesophatanian Fallow Deer South Andean Deer |
| Vulnerable Deer Species | Marsh Deer White Lipped Deer Barasingha Thamin or Eld’s Deer The Black Muntjac Southern Pudu |
| Low Risk Deer Species (not threatened) | Moose (Eurasian Elk) Chinese Water Deer Northern Pudu |
| Data Deficient (status unknown) | Philippine Sambar Hog Deer Tufted Deer North Andean Deer Red Brocket Dwarf Brocket Deer Brown Brocket Deer Pygmy Brocket Yucatan Brown Brocket Giant Muntjac Fea’s Muntjac The Gongshan Muntjac The Leaf Deer or Leaf Muntjac Truong Son Muntjac |
| Extinct Deer Species | Schomburgh’s Deer |
As you can see, there are a considerable number of deer species which are at some kind of risk of becoming extinct.
Also troubling is the fact that so many species have an unclear or unknown risk status due to a lack of information and research.
Danger in the Tropics
Many of the most threatened and endangered deer species live in tropical parts of the world. Most live in tropical forests of one kind or another.
These species are obviously at threat because the forests that make up their natural home are themselves threatened with deforestation for agricultural development.
In some of the types of deer listed above, some of the subspecies are endangered or threatened while others are not. An example is the Sika Deer. In this table we are not directly considering all of the individual sub-species of each type of deer. For more detailed information please learn more about individual types of deer on our website, or visit the IUCN website.
