Spaniard explores 'Oriental Kenya' in E China's Jiangsu as milu deer mark 40 years home

Spaniard Alvaro Lago visited the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Yancheng, east China's Jiangsu Province, for an up-close encounter with the milu deer, also known as Père David's deer, and even tried his hand at feeding them.

The reserve's coastal wetlands are rich in ecological resources. Its vast mudflats, waterways and vegetation provide an ideal habitat for the milu deer. To protect the wild population to the greatest extent possible, only part of the reserve is open to visitors, while most of the core area is left undisturbed for the deer to breed and thrive.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the milu deer's return to Dafeng. In 1986, 39 milu deer were reintroduced to Yancheng from the United Kingdom. Today, the area is home to nearly 70 percent of the world's milu deer population.

The milu deer, which is a first-class nationally protected species in China, lacks sweat glands and is highly sensitive to high temperatures. Yancheng's healthy wetland ecosystem, however, has enabled the population to flourish. In Yancheng, people and nature coexist in harmony, and four decades of dedicated conservation have allowed the once-endangered milu deer to roam freely once again across their native wetlands.