Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) was endangered in China and vanished from Shanghai early in the 20th century. The deer was reintroduced from 2006 onward, so as to re-establish a wild population in Shanghai. We obtained the deer from the breeding stock and released them. The deer numbers increased from 21 in 2007 to 299 in 2013. There has been a total area of 30.62 km² of free-range deer release from 2010 and this will be enlarged in the future.

Bioelectricity encodes morphogenesis of lower animals, but it is currently unknown whether this concept can be applied to mammals. Deer antler is an ideal model for studying the morphogenesis of mammalian organs. Investigating morphogenetic information of deer antlers through bioelectricity will help us understand the underlying morphogenetic mechanism in mammals and the results will benefit human health and wellbeing, such as, for example birth defects, organ regeneration, organ senescence and tumour formation.

It is important to know how animals survive in areas with high human density. This study introduced the population history and current situation of Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon) in eastern Asia. The successful management experience of these two deer in China and Japan would shed some light on the conservation of endangered species in the world.

Antlers are a valuable attribute of deer but their growth makes significant nutrient demands. Well-grown antlers depend on good peri-natal nutrition and body size at antler initiation, and demands large amounts of Ca and other minerals. This review assembles data on the nutrient requirements for antler growth to inform successful feeding practices.

Animals have developed an amazing way of vocal communication, which is very important for social contact or mate attraction. To unveil the mysteries of Père David’s deer’s unique language, we analysed their ‘conversation’ and discovered the interesting ‘accent’ of stags in different dominance ranks. The phenomenon that acoustic features related to the dominance hierarchy reflects how animals cope with reproductive competition by proper behavioural strategies.

Alpine musk deer is a threatened species and not much is known about its ecology. The present study aims to explore the ecology and habitat overlap with other wild ungulates and cattle species. Results show a significant overlap of the species with wild ungulates and cattle. Through feeding we were able to explore that the species prefer to browse over grass species.

How much space will be used by released Chinese water deer in their ancestors’ homeland? Our study discovers that each reintroduced Chinese water deer has taken 671 ha (range 245–1559 ha) area in Nanhui East Shoal Wildlife Sanctuary, Shanghai, China. We know the habitat selection and this area can afford many deer.

Trace minerals are essential in ruminant diets as they participate in biochemical processes required for normal growth and development. Zn requirement for deer have not been established. Our objective for this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary Zn on antler growth, blood biochemical parameters and nutrient digestibility for farmed male sika deer.

Amino acids are essential in ruminant diets as they participate in biochemical processes required for normal growth and development. Met requirement for deer has not been established. Our objective for the present study was to evaluate the effects of DL-methionine supplement on growth performance, amino acid digestion and plasma concentrationss in sika deer calves.

In this study, we used velvet-antler polypeptide extract (VAPE) to induce cell proliferation and differentiation in a human peripheral blood lymphocyte cell line to demonstrate the mechanisms. The results demonstrated that VAPE induces cell proliferation and cell-cycle progression and that the PI3K–Akt signal pathway was activated during cell proliferation induced by VAPE. Thus, our data provided novel insights into the further understanding of the molecular and signalling pathway mechanisms of VAPE in promoting proliferation of human peripheral blood lymphocyte cells.