Rare deer species rediscovered in Afghanistan after surviving two major wars
FIONA MACDONALD
17 AUG 2016
Researchers have spotted the rare Bactrian deer (Cervus elaphus bactrianus) in the wild in Afghanistan for the first time in more than 40 years. Until now, scientists had feared that the dwindling species had become extinct in the region, after two major wars and years of civil conflict.
The last time the animals had been surveyed in the wild was during the 1970s, and there were only around 120 individuals left in a small pocket in the northeast corner of Afghanistan.
That's the Takhar Province, near Tajikistan, which was on the border of the USSR during the Soviet-Afghan War in the late 1970s, and then was taken over by Mujahedeen leaders in the '80s.
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Researchers had feared the worst, seeing as the deer's range was already so limited on the Afghanistan side of the border.
But an expedition in 2013 identified hoof prints and droppings from the species, and eventually a fleeting glimpse of a young female deer. The team has just published their results in the Deer Specialist Group newsletter of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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more: http://www.sciencealert.com/rare-deer-rediscovered-in-afghanistan-after-surviving-two-major-wars?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1
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