HOHHOT, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- To rebuild the wild population of the endangered Przewalski's horse and milu deer, China released six Przewalski's horses and 27 milu deer on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in a nature reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the regional forestry and grassland bureau said.
The staff at the Daqingshan Nature Reserve put satellite tracking collars on the horses and deer to monitor their activities in the wild, allowing researchers to receive timely information about their health conditions in order to ensure the safety of the population.
The reserve will strengthen monitoring and patrols, strictly guard against illegal activities such as poaching and habitat destruction, and continue to monitor disease among the animals.
The release will boost the expansion of Przewalski's horses and the rare deer from artificial breeding to wild breeding, so as to realize the goal of rebuilding the wild populations in China.
The Przewalski's horse is believed to be the only wild horse species in existence today. It is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and is under first-class national protection.
Milu, also known as Pere David's deer, is endemic to China where it bears the nickname "sibuxiang," or "like none of the four" due to its unique features -- a horse's face, a donkey's tail, cow-like hooves and a stag's antlers.
Overhunting and habitat loss drove the wetland deer to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century. Only a few deer that were transported to Europe survived the extirpation and were later acquired by British duke Herbrand Russell to be raised at the Woburn Abbey. In 1985, joint efforts brought back 22 milu deer to China to rebuild its population. Enditem
