Where there’s life …

… there’s hope. And the continuing story of a virtually extinct species (18 left in the world, only 11 that could reproduce) gives all of us working in wildlife conservation a much-needed boost.

The Milu (Pere David’s deer, Elaphurus davidianus) are well and truly alive, kicking and living freely again in their natural range, the Yangtze river basin in central China. We’ve witnessed them before in the wild, and research students have studied them continuously for the last few years, but the huge advances in technology – especially in the use of drones in finding and monitoring the free-living deer – means that we can tell that the herds are thriving and growing. Precise numbers are still being determined, but we know there are at least 500 individuals living in four different areas.

The Milu are well and truly home.

(wild Milu in Sanheyuan, Hubei, copyright Hubei Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve)