The once endangered milu deer now thrives in its homeland
With giant deer antlers on the horse-like head, a donkey's tail and cow's hooves, the milu deer, also known as Pere David's deer, is a strange looking animal.
They are very picky about the wetland that they inhabit and the water plants they forage on. They particularly love rolling about in the mud, especially during the mating season, which makes the land easier for farmers to cultivate.
Native to China, the milu deer once went extinct in the wild due to overhunting and habitat loss in 1900. In 1986, the British government gifted 39 milu deer to Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in east China's Jiangsu Province, starting a revival of the population in its homeland.
Now, the population of the milu deer in the reserve has risen from 39 to 4,556, accounting for two-thirds of its total population in the world. The reserve also managed to release the deer into the wild for five times, which makes its number in the wild reach 1,000.
(Cover photo via VCG.)
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com)