I have an ongoing project to photograph and film Chinese Water Deer. They’re not easy animals to photograph, they generally spend the day in a reedbed coming out to feed in the early evening just when the light is fading. You can sometimes grab a shot during the day if you are lucky. They have excellent hearing, if they hear the shutter of your camera fire they will run for the reeds. If you are completely still they don’t seem to notice you but they are very sensitive to movement. There is a healthy population of Chinese Water Deer at my nearest nature reserve – Woodwalton Fen in Cambridgeshire. I have a lot of photographs of these deer so I have started to try and capture them on video.
Unlike ‘traditional’ deer they don’t have antlers, instead they have tusk-like teeth that protrude from their mouth
A male Water Deer photographed at Woodwalton Fen
I will post regular updates on my Chinese Water Deer project, so come back and have a look to see how I’m getting on.
Fen Photos. 