Rare musk deer captured on camera

THREE forest musk deer were captured on infrared cameras wandering or enjoying sunbathing in a national nature reserve in central China’s Hunan Province, the reserve’s administration said yesterday.

Staff with the Badagongshan National Nature Reserve found the photos and video clips of the animals when they checked 60 infrared cameras.

“We found the deer in three areas at three different times, with the longest distance between two of them reaching 43 kilometers, which shows the forest musk deer are widely distributed in the reserve and has a growing population,” said reserve official Xiang Jianjun.

“Timid and living alone, the forest musk deer usually rest during the day and only come out in the morning and evening. With excellent eyesight and hearing, they will quickly escape or hide when encountering suspicious noises. It is therefore extremely difficult to capture their images.”

To protect the habitats and living environment of the endangered animal, the nature reserve will increase the deployment of cameras.

The deer are under national first-class protection and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.

(Xinhua)