Rare deer spotted in SW Yunnan

Two rare deer, a male and a female, were spotted in a nature reserve located in Changning County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to local authorities.

The male forest musk deer was captured by an infrared camera at around 3 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2020, the authorities said, adding that staff at the reserve also found footage of a female forest musk deer while reorganizing the videos.

This is the first time the rare species was filmed in the reserve.

The forest musk deer are timid in nature and only live in areas with excellent environment and few human activities, said Yang Bin, director of the reserve, adding that their presence indicates a continued ecological improvement in the region.

Forest musk deer are under national first-class protection and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list. There are 4,000 to 4,500 forest musk deer living in the wild.