Illegal poaching has resulted in a sharp drop in the number of endangered musk deer, an animal under grade-two state protection in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Jiefang Daily reports.

According to a recent investigation, just 115,000 musk deer remain in Tibet - half of that number from a decade ago.

Liu Wulin, director of the autonomous region's forestry protection institution and an animal expert, said illegal hunting was going crazy driven by the skyward price of musk. Musk is used as medicine and in making perfume.

China is a major habitat for the wild deer, which live throughout more than 20 provinces and regions. Among the five varieties of musk deer in China, Tibet has four, two of which are unique to the region.

(China Daily March 7, 2005)