By Hu Jinchu

Sika deer include 9 subspecies, which are only found in China and other East Asian countries. With only a little more than 1000 Sika deer alive today, they are as rare as giant panda. Three of the six subspecies living in China are already extinct in the wild. At present, only three subspecies still exist in Northeastern China, Southern Regions of the Yangtze River.

Travelling north about 500 kilometers from Chengdu via the vast Hongyuan and Ruoergai Grasslands, along the headwaters of White Dragon River and downstream to Tiebu County, Ruo-ergai, one arrives at Sichuan Sika Deer Nature Reserve. Tiebu District has been inhabited by Tibetan people for millenia. In the Min Dynasty, it was attached to Song Canton and was unitred with Pan Cnaton as Songpan County in the Qin Dynasty. Tiebu District belonged to Chonger Tribe 50 years ago.. Over a long period of time, a legend developed within the tribe saying that Da Ou Mountain, the highest peak in Tiebu District, is a holy mountain that gave rise to the holy sika deer. The legend warns that if the deer are hurt the district will be plagued with hail, livestock will die, and the people will become sick. Sika deer have a long history of protection.

Sichuan Sika deer are stronger and more handsome than those in the zoo. They range from 1.4 to 1.7 meters in length and weigh about 115 to 150 kilos. The deer have long black narrow line on the center of their backs with white spots on either side of the line. Adult male Sika deer grow light brown antlers that are made into a medicne called Lurong. The antlers serve as weapons during the Automn mating season and are regrow each spring.

There are more than 600 Sichuan Sika deer in the Tiebu Nature Reserve, 100 more can be found in Baozuo, which is in eastern part of Ruoergai, and nearly 100 in Baihe Nature Reserve of Jiuzhaigou County. These 800 deer formed the largest wild Sika deer group in the world.

Sichuan Sika deer live 2,500 to 3,700 meters above sea level in mixed forests of conifer and broad-leaf trees, sub-alpine shrubs, brushwoods and bushwood-covered slopes which are exposing to the sun and lack of wind and snow, and in the thick forest in the summer time. They often hide in the thick forest during the day, and appear on the grass slopes during dawn and evening.

Sika deer like to live in herds, which changes seasonally according to the abundance of the food in their habitat. In the winter, since the food base is diminished, many small herds form into large herds of 20 to 30 with the largest Sichuan Sika deer herds reaching 80 or more (the largest sika deer herd in a Russian nature reserve amounts to 106 in the winter). After the female deer gives birth in the early summer, herds with fawns and mothers usually form in groups of 5 to 7 while some larger herds consist of more than 10 deer. When the food base broadens in July and August, they divided into several small herds of 3 to 5 with fawns and mothers grouping according to kindredship. During the antler-growing period in the spring, the adult male deers often gather into small herds and retreat to the thick forest in order to protect their young antlers. During the period of mating season in the autumn, the increasing attraction between male and female deer make them into a propagation herd of 10 to 20 deer.  Sika deer enjoy a great variety of food sources. According to a survey made in the Ruoergai Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve, their food consists of over 144 kinds of plants. In the winter and early spring, when food is not plentiful, they only eat dry grass, sprouts and twigs. In the summer, they usually eat juicy green grass, leaves, sprouts, and moss and mushrooms as well. In autumn, they often eat grass and tree seeds, which are rich in starch whose energy is stored for the long winter (Nov. to April). Like the other members of the deer family, they also lick salty soil and water from March to September. They like to go to streams in spring to drink water along banks. They can often be found resting near ponds and springs during the summer and autumn.

The mating season of Sika deer is from September to October. During this time, the adult male deer join the herds of fawns and females so that the ratio of male to female is 1:2.7 to 2.8. The fighting for winning a mate is very fierce, because only the winner has the power to copulate with the female deer. After a seven and half to eight month of gestation period, fawns are born in April and May. Generally, a female deer propagates one fawn and must provide it with milk for 3 to 4 months. The female deer can mate at the age of 2, yet they will maturate at the age of 3.

The Sika deer has many natural enemies, such as jackals, wolves, lynxes, leopards and tigers. The habitat of each subspecies of the Sika deer has only 2 to 3 kinds of natural enemies. Jackals are the most severe threat to Sichuan Sika deer while the second most dangerous enemy are wild dogs. Bears swcavange for the corpses of SIka deer and sometimes attack young fawns.

Sichuan Sika deer were regarded as treasures in the mountains, and were hunted because their antlers, blood, tendons, embryos, male genitalia, and flesh are valuable tonics and delicious food, and their skin is good quality leather. Since they like to get together, they are easy to hunt. This is why the wild Sika deer face extinction as their total population is less than 1000. In adition, because of over-deforestion, cultivation, and increased human activities, their habitat has been seriusly depleted. Along with the development of stock breeding, livestock such as sheep compete for food with them. And with increasement of environmental pressure day by day, their living conditions worsens accordingly, the population of Sika deer has decreased a lot. Sika deer are rare animals in the Eastern Asia Monsoon Zone. The whole world must pay much more attention to them, China has already listed them as Grade A National Protection Animal, and protected their habitat strictly, forbidding hunting, in order to increase herd number.