Eld’s deer sighting sparks hope for revival of species
NGO WONDERS of the Mekong has reported that threatened and endangered Eld’s deer were found in the northeast of Cambodia.
In its report released on Saturday, its experts said Eld’s deer ( Panolia eldii) “are docile and loving”.
The report said that Eld’s deer populated Asia 60 years ago. They were hunted for food and their attractive horns are used in furniture. Some parts of their bones were used as medicine.
In 2016, Eld’s deer was registered in the list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
But they have been found again in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China and India. The future of the Eld’s deer had improved because of “protection and conservation”.
However, in the report, experts didn’t reveal the number of Eld’s deer found in Cambodia.
It said the deer were found grazing on grass fields after a recent forest fire and degraded forests where new lawns started growing.
They like to live in groups and graze grass and sometimes, they also like to graze dry grass.
According to a joint study by WWF-Cambodia, Birdlife International (Cambodia), the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Cambodia, 30 Eld’s deer were found in the northeast of Cambodia in 2018.
WWF-Cambodia is now working with government agencies, NGOs and local communities to protect them.
The organisation noted that wildlife hunting is unsustainable, especially as mammals are now under threat because legal and illegal logging is destroying their habitats.