BEIJING : China has stepped up protection of its endangered species by setting up various rescue and breeding centres.

One animal that perished in China, but has since been re-introduced, is the Mi Lu or David's deer.

Native to China's northeastern and eastern-central areas, they are also known as "si bu xiang", or "neither of the four animals".

Guo Geng, director of the Mi Lu Preservation Park and Museum said: "They have antlers like deers, but they are not deers. They have faces like horses, yet they are not horses. They have hooves like cows, yet they are not cows. They have tails like donkeys, yet they are not donkeys."

The species first became extinct in China over 1,000 years ago due mainly to hunting. More recently, in the early 1900s, it became extinct even while in captivity due mainly to flooding, social upheavals and even foreign aggression.

Luckily for them, they were discovered by Father Armand David - a French missionary - who later transported them to Europe where they became known as David's deer.

The animals were saved from the brink of extinction by a British duke, who bred them in captivity.

Guo said: "Mi Lu can only survive when China is prosperous. They perished after the collapse and decline of the Qing dynasty. England is the second home of the Mi Lu who returned to their ancestral homeland in 1985 after a century of being overseas Chinese.

"When I look at them, their tribulations and adversities seem to tell us that even though they are known as Mi Lu, humans should remember not to 'mi lu' (lose their sense of direction)."

There are now over 2,000 Mi Lu in China, found mainly in Beijing and two large reserves in Jiangsu and Hebei provinces.

Other creatures successfully re-introduced into their natural habitat include Chinese tigers, antelopes and alligators.

To ensure more species survive, some people advocate putting an end to the Chinese practice of consuming exotic animals.

"Eating birds' nest and sharks' fin is a habit that is hard to change in a short time. But we can step up education, starting with young children by instilling in them the right values," said Wang Mengxuan, a student.

"There's a poem that goes like this - the birds are chirping and twittering, the creatures are humming and hawing, the fishes are muttering and murmuring, and the insects are squeaking and tweeting. Translated into human language, these creatures are saying that they are really afraid of human beings and their insatiable appetite," said Guo.

In China, animal rights is a relatively new concept, and is usually disregarded in cases where animals are believed to have medicinal value. - CNA /ls