Captive deer released in the wild
Print Edition
SIXTEEN captive Pere David’s deer have been released in central China’s Dongting Lake since the 1990s.
The deer, 11 female and 5 male, were raised at Dafeng Reserve in east China’s Jiangsu Province. They were fitted with GPS devices before being reintroduced in the wild yesterday.
Almost driven to extinction, around 100 deer were counted in the most recent census of the species around the Dongting Lake area in Hunan Province. It is hoped that the new additions will enrich the gene pool and boost the population.
During a catastrophic flood in 1998, a handful of deer escaped from Shishou Nature Reserve in neighboring Hubei Province and crossed the Yangtze River to settle in the reed beds and marshlands by Dongting Lake.
Pere David’s Deer are believed to be endemic to China’s subtropical areas.
Chinese call them sibuxiang, meaning “none of the four.” This refers to the fact the deer has a neck like a camel, the tail of a donkey, cow-like hooves and deer-like antlers.
The species were named after Armand “Pere” David, a Basque missionary and the first Westerner to introduce the animal to Europe in the late 19th century.
The deer was nearly extinct in China by 1900 due to natural disasters and overhunting. In 1985, 22 specimens were brought to China from the world’s only herd in Bedfordshire, the United Kingdom.
China is now home to two-thirds of all the Pere David’s deer in the world, around 3,000 of them living in three specialized reserves in Beijing, Hubei and Jiangsu.
Hunan’s Dongting Lake, however, claims the title of having China’s largest population of free roaming Pere David’s Deer.
“Besides a large area of water and beaches, the lush vegetation of Dongting Lake provides enough food and suitable shelter for the deer,” said Song Yucheng, a Pere David’s deer expert.
Experts have noted the deer around Dongting Lake were almost completely wild.
Song said by tracking the 16 released deer, zoologists would be able to collect information on the species’ living habit, routines and environmental demands, which can help in conservation efforts.
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