An Ancient Species Origin aing from the Himalayas

---文章选自今日中国杂志

Nearly 80 percent of the Tibetan

They used to be endemic to the centri l

region of the Himalayas.The formation

of the Himalayas in the late Tertiary

and early Quaternary periods resulted

in sharp uplift of the ground around the

Tibetan Plateau and the disappearing of

forests.Consequently， the habitat of the

white-lipped deer shrank to the east.

As the habitat of the deer was in ac-

cessible， there is no written record of

the species in Chinese history.In 1883，

Russian geographer Nikolay Mik hay-

lovich Pr zh eval sky obtained the first

specimens of the white-lipped deer in

northern Gansu Province， attracting

biologists attention to this species.In

1893， English geologist and naturalist

William Thomas Blanford observed the

white-lipped deer during a fieldtrip

in Tibet and named it Thorold's deer.

After that， the species was reportedly

Plateau steppe provides pastures for

yaks， sheep， and goats.The white-

observed by German and American

lipped deer have to retreat to the

biologists in1938 and 1939 respectively.

remaining 20 percent of the pasture，

These early findings provide fragmented

information on the geographical loca-

Although they are protected and re-

garded as sacred by local people， the

tion of the white-lipped deer.

population is declining due to shrink-

By the end of the 1990s， there were

ing living space and fragmentation.

The deer breeds once a year with

the mating season from September to

November.Mating season is character-

ized by fighting adult males who break

their antlers frequently in the hunt for

about 15， 800 white-lipped deer in China.

Currently， they mainly live in Sichuan，

Qinghai， and Tibet with a population

of around 7， 000.Among them， 1， 500 to

2， 000areinShiqu County， 200inDege

County， and 3， 000inBaiyu County of

mates.Females give birth to one fawn，

An Ancient Species Origin ating from the Himalayas

Nearly 80 percent of the Tibetan

occasionally two， around next May to

July after a pregnancy of eight months.

Region， it is estimated that there are 134

in Jo mda County， and 300inNyingchi，

a prefecture-level city.Most of them are

semi-captive.There are very few wild

The newborn fawns are covered with

patches which disappear in one month

and begin feeding on grass at one

month old.The fawns get sexually ma-

white-lipped deer.

The rare white-lipped deer is of

ture at three， while the stags usually

fight for mates after five.The birthrate

unique significance.Although China

has learned howto breed the species

and they can be seen in many domestic

zoos， to date it has only given a pair of

the rare species to SriLanka and Nepal

of the species is low.Wild white-lipped

deer generally live to 12 years， while

those in captivity can survive up to 21

as gifts.

yearTsh.e deer is an ancient species.Their

fossils have been found in the strata dat-

ing back to the late Pleistocene period.

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