Tech & Sci
18:10, 06-May-2017
Large number of wild milu deer sighted in Hunan
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A large group of milu deer have been spotted in central China's Hunan Province, authorities said.
Staff with Hunan Provincial Forestry Department found 62 wild milu deer during a drone inspection in a state nature reserve near Dongting Lake, the second-largest freshwater lake in China. It is the biggest group of wild milu deer ever seen in the area.
Staff with the department found the deer foraging during a survey on Thursday.
Last year, authorities found 41 deer in the reserve.
Milu is sometimes known by its informal name sibuxiang (Chinese: 四不像), or "four not alike", meaning it has the hooves of a cow but is not a cow; the neck of a camel but is not a camel; antlers of a deer but is not a deer; the tail of a donkey but is not a donkey. / VCG Photo
Milu is sometimes known by its informal name sibuxiang (Chinese: 四不像), or "four not alike", meaning it has the hooves of a cow but is not a cow; the neck of a camel but is not a camel; antlers of a deer but is not a deer; the tail of a donkey but is not a donkey. / VCG Photo
"The extra deer spotted this year must be the calves," said Zhang Hong, an official with the administration of the nature reserve.
Milu, also known as Pere David's deer, is a species endemic to China, but over-hunting and loss of habitat led to its near extinction in the early 20th Century.
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.
(Source: Xinhua)
1257km