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Père David’s Deer
WAZA magazine Vol 13/2012
» In 2010 the Environmental Protection Bureau appointed a partnership comprising of Maja Boyd (who had stayed closely involved with the species), Woburn Deer Park (recognised experts in milu management and historically one of the main reasons why the species has survived), the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust (for their skills in designing an optimising habitat conditions for the milu) and Bristol Zoo Gardens (for their expertise in working with local communities living around protected areas in situations of human–wildlife conflict) to develop a 15-year master plan for the area – now entitled the Hubei Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve (Hubei Environmental Protection Bureau 2011). The plan was presented in November 2011 to a panel of Chinese experts, headed by academician Jin Jianming who ratified the strategy and implementation plan. There are currently around 450 milu living inside the Reserve, with an estimated 350 more living freely in Hubei and Hunan. The species has most certainly been re-established in its former range.
Future Plans What now for the milu in China? Although still classified as Extinct in the Wild, this is clearly incorrect, as the authors have seen and photographed individual animals outside of any contained herd. Students of the Central South University of Forestry and Technology at Changsha have also followed three wild-living populations in Hubei and Hunan. As well as these wild herds, there are now many zoos in China that hold at least a few individuals. What is clearly needed now is an agreed Conservation Action and Management Plan (CAMP), so that the species can be managed on a country-wide scale, benefiting from the lessons learned over the last 120 years. Zhang Linyuan, director of the Beijing Biodiversity Research Centre at Nan Haizi, believes that the species would benefit from a coming together of recognised experts in milu conservation, from within China as well as internationally, and as such is looking at the potential of hosting a CAMP workshop sometime in 2013, so that such a national plan can be agreed and implemented. It is an exciting prospect and will give the opportunity for individuals and organisations to celebrate one of the few major success stories in wildlife conservation, whilst recognising that there is still work to be done, especially as wild populations increase and come into conflict with human activities. With so many species under the threat of imminent extinction, the milu workshop will indeed be a rare event – management planning of an animal that was so very nearly lost to the world and is now on the increase. The role of zoos and private collections in safeguarding this species from extinction is something that all zoo professionals should be proud of.
References • Beck, B. B. & Wemmer, C. M. (1983) The Biology and Management of an Extinct Species: Père David’s Deer. Park Ridge: Noyes Publications. • Boyd, M. M. & Zongyi, Wang (1989) The reintroduction of Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davdianus) to Nan Haizi Milu Reserve, Beijing, China. Proceedings of the Fifth International Theriological Congress, Rome. • Fox, H. M. (1949) Abbé David’s Diary. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. • Hubei Environmental Protection Bureau (2011) Hubei Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve: Master Plan for Development 2011–2026. Wuhan: Hubei Environmental Protection Bureau. • Zeng, Y., Jiang, Z. & Li, C. (2007) Genetic variability in relocated Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) populations – Implications to reintroduction program. Conservation Genetics 8: 1051–1059.