The latest statistics show that the number of David's deer at the Dafeng Nature Reserve, in east China's Jiangsu Province, has reached 516, the most in any country in the world.
Experts said that the animal, a herbivore, which lives in a damp environment and can survive in temperatures 15 to 18 degrees Celsius below zero.
Scientific research shows that David's deer had lived in east China for more than 2,000 years. However, in 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded and captured Beijing and took away the last few David's deers from China.
To save the endangered species, the state-level Dafeng David's Deer Nature Reserve was established in Dafeng City in 1985 and the deer were reintroduced to China. In the early years following its establishment, the nature reserve only had 39 David's deers.
Workers at the nature reserve have tried a series of measures to acquaint the animals with their original environment, for the final purpose of reintroducing them to the wild, sources said.
(People's Daily 08/07/2001)
