Global News - July 2007

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Rare deer caught on camera

Fri 27 July 2007 16:15 UK — Asia

A rare type of deer has been photographed for the first time, after scientists set up special 'camera traps' in a remote area of jungle.

Experts only previously knew about the existence of the large-antlered muntjac through specimens collected by hunters and a few fleeting glimpses by biologists.

However, a team managed to capture images of the illusive creature in the wild during a trip to Laos' Nakai Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA).

The densely forested region is considered by many experts to be one the world's biodiversity hotspots and the team was hoping to sight a number of rare and endangered animals.

Sangthong Southammakoth, executive director of Laos' Nam Theun 2 Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA), commented: "We are very excited about these photos.

"They show the global significance of the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area, and reinforce the importance of our work."

Along with the photos of the large-antlered muntjacs was a single image of an Annamite striped rabbit - one of the world's rarest and least-known members of the rabbit/hare family.

Other rare animals in the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area include saola - an antelope-like creature only discovered in the 1990s- and a number of rare species of tigers, Asian elephants and monkeys.

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