The number of endangered sika deers living in a nature reserve in east China's Jiangxi Province has seen a significant increase over the past decades thanks to great efforts in wildlife protection.

A population survey of sika deer in Jiangxi's Taohongling Nature Reserve conducted last year showed that the population of this species rose to 624 in 2021 from less than 60 in 1981.

Being an endangered species under top national protection in China, the sika deer in the reserve belongs to the deer family of the south China subspecies.

Taohongling Nature Reserve, covering a total area of 125 square km in the city of Jiujiang, is an important protection base for wild sika deer.

The nature reserve was established in 1981 as a response to a continuing decrease in the number of wild sika deers due to factors such as natural environment damage and hunting.

Experts have conducted many investigations on the population of sika deer in the nature reserve since 1981 and have seen a steady rise in its numbers over the past decades.