New hope for a dear creature
Once under threat, Pere David’s deer are adapting to a habitat in Daqing Mountain nature reserve as experts search for ways to increase gene diversity of the species, report Xu Lin in Beijing and Yuan Hui in Hohhot.
Armed with telescopes and a drone, Ma Haibo and his colleagues set out for the cold ridges and steep slopes every morning. They have an important task at hand. They must follow the herds of Pere David’s deer, keep a head count, document food and mating habits, and also collect droppings for analysis.
Pere David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) — more commonly known as the milu deer — has been brought back from the brink of complete extinction in China since the mid-1980s.
It is now the responsibility of the Daqing Mountain National Nature Reserve in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to ensure survival of the species in an elevated habitat.
Ma, who works at the nature reserve’s management station, knows where and how to track the herbivore.
The team scours areas near watering holes, where the source of food is plenty. The milu primarily feeds on grass, but supplements its diet with aquatic plants in summer.
Spotting the Pere David’s deer isn’t difficult, given its unique set of branched antlers. While the main beam grows upward, the long tines of the antlers point backward.
The milu has a reddish tan coat in summer that changes to dull gray in winter. It sports a mane and has a black dorsal stripe running along the spine. The hooves are large and they make a clicking sound.
In September, 27 of these animals from two major milu deer sanctuaries — one in Nanhaizi, Beijing, and the other at Dafeng, Jiangsu province — were set free in the Daqing Mountain nature reserve.
In April, nine calves were born. However, since the mating season is between June and August, the team must observe if the milu females can conceive in the wild.
The National Forestry and Grassland Administration launched the ambitious conservation program in 2019 to expand the habitat of the species. Experts came to the nature reserve for inspection, and an area with plenty of food and water was chosen to release the deer.
Research personnel have been tracking the animals through GPSenabled collars. It has helped experts monitor health and movement of the herds.
The milu was once endemic to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in China.
It was called sibuxiang because its head oddly looks like that of a horse, it has antlers of a deer, its hooves are ox-like and its tail resembles that of a donkey.
The species became extinct in the wild in the early 20th century owing to rampant hunting and loss of habitat under imperial rule, when the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was torn by wars.
Currently, all milu deer are direct descendants of those 18 creatures purchased around the 1900s by the 11th Duke of Bedford, who kept the animals on his estate at Woburn in the United Kingdom.
In the 1980s, the species was reintroduced in China from Woburn Abbey, starting the revival process in its homeland.
After more than three decades of concerted efforts, the milu population has grown to over 10,000, including 4,400 in the wild, courtesy of the three dedicated reserves in Nanhaizi, Dafeng and Shishou (Hubei province).
For Ma, it is a new responsibility, but he remains undeterred by challenges.
He reads avidly or calls experts to understand the species better. According to his observations, the two groups of animals from Nanhaizi and Dafeng are getting along well, and even integrating into a community.
Ma, who keeps a record of the reserve’s ecological conditions, has noticed that the vegetation cover has increased, thanks to the national protection policy and ample rainfall in recent years.
The population of other wild animals also seems to be growing, as one can see more gorals and roe deer now.
“The milu originally lived in the wetlands or marshlands. This is the first time they have been released in a cold mountainous region, where the winter temperature can plummet to -30 C,” says Khorintavan, deputy head of the administrative bureau of the nature reserve, who’s from the Mongolian ethnic group.
The staff had built winter shelters, Khorintavan says, but the herds never went there. The milu have a thick coat, which keeps them warm, he adds. The task ahead is to see how well the calves adapt to the new environment.
The gold and iron mines in the mountains were shut down long ago, and human interference has greatly reduced. Locals are aware of the importance of wildlife conservation and this has buoyed the confidence of experts.
“The current conflict is the burgeoning milu population and its limited habitat,” says Guo Qingyun, associate research fellow at the Beijing Milu Deer Ecological Experiment Center in Nanhaizi.
The center has so far sent 598
milu deer to nature reserves across China.
“The birth of calves means that the Daqing Mountain nature reserve is a suitable habitat for the
milu deer,” Guo says.
“It is a reference for us to cultivate more potential habitats. However, it will take some time to figure out if a wild population has indeed been established there.”
The male milu deer compete with one another for mating rights. They form harems comprising several females. The dominant male defends his territory against rivals until mating season is over.
Guo says the polygynous nature means the milu deer have a higher probability of inbreeding, which can lead to genetic deficiencies and low disease resistance.
“However, it is the first time that the species from Beijing and Jiangsu have established communication. This can increase their gene diversity,” she says.