Sichuan and Ganzi: Large Numbers of Wild White-Lipped Deer Spotted in Shiqiu Snow Mountains

On March 5th, a large group of wild white-lipped deer were filmed by netizens chasing and playing in the snow mountains of the Xinda Nature Reserve in the Tadapu Township, Kangdu County, Sichuan Province.

Large wild white-lipped deer appear in Shiqiu snow mountain

White-lipped deer is a national Level I key protected animal, with a body size similar to that of red deer, with a body length of about 2 meters and a weight of about 250 kilograms. The antlers of adult males can reach 1 meter and have 4–6 branches, while females have no antlers. The body is yellowish-brown, with a pale brown rump patch and no black dorsal line and white spots. The fur is coarse and hard, a typical high-altitude animal, and its habitat is at an altitude of 3000–5000 meters, adapted to high-altitude climate, and one of the rare wild animals found only on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Large wild white-lipped deer appear in Shiqiu snow mountain

According to statistics, the southwest part of Shiqiu County is one of the areas with the largest population and highest density of white-lipped deer distributed on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In the Tadapu Divine Deer Valley Ecological Protection Zone in Shiqiu Tadapu Township, the population of white-lipped deer is about 14,000, and the population density reaches 7.35–8.81 heads per square kilometer. In Kangdu County's Shiqiu and Baiyu counties, there are about 45,000 white-lipped deer, accounting for one-third of the national population.

Large wild white-lipped deer appear in Shiqiu snow mountain