A still larger and finer animal is the Pekin sika (C. hortulorum), of northern Manchuria, which is as large as a small red-deer; it is represented in the Yang-tse valley by a local race, C. h.
Moving through the shadows in the forest, roe and sika deer are readily seen.
Hybridisation with introduced sika deer Cervus nippon is thought to pose a significant threat to the genetic integrity of native red deer.
The second group of the genus Cervus, forming the subgenus Pseudaxis, is typified by the handsome little Japanese deer, or sika, C. (P.) sica, in which the antlers are four-tined, and covered with red "velvet" when first grown, while the coat is fully spotted in summer, but more or less uniformly brown in winter.
We were also surprised at the very large number of sika deer which inhabit the reserve.