Fighting Extinction - Waza

32 Père David’s Deer
WAZA magazine Vol 13/2012
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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.