A Chinese water deer science museum in Yexie Town of Songjiang District opened to the public recently, raising residents' awareness of endangered animal protection and ecological preservation.

The science museum, located at the Songjiang Chinese Water Deer Recovery and Releasing Habitat in a conservative forest along the upper reaches of the Huangpu River, is a two-story building consisting of four exhibition sections: an introduction to Chinese water deer, their return to Shanghai, factors that threaten them and popular science on the deer.

To be visitor-friendly, the museum displays some audible dolls in different animal shapes such as a squirrel, a hedgehog and a Chinese water deer and allows visitors to touch them and tell apart their different sounds. Jigsaw puzzles on three deer-family animals – a musk deer, a Chinese water deer and a muntjack deer – are put on the walls for visitors to solve and get a general idea about them.

Chinese water deer used to be a widespread local species in the 1880s. Due to habitat reduction and excessive hunting, the species went extinct in Shanghai at the beginning of the 20th century.

In 2006 Shanghai initiated a small species restoration project and reintroduced key wild animals, including Chinese water deer, Yangtze alligators and badgers, locally in the hope of increasing the city's biodiversity

The Yexie Chinese Water Deer Breeding Center, an ecological conservative forest near the headstream of Shanghai's Huangpu River, is the major habitat for Chinese water deer. Since the first batch of 40 deer was introduced to the breeding center in 2009, the center now has more than 80 deer and at its peak it boasted nearly 200 such animals.

"We set up the Chinese water deer recovery and releasing habitat last year. With the science museum now open, more people will know how the Chinese water deer has been restored in Shanghai," said Yao Hongjun, chief of animal and plant protection office of the Songjiang Afforestation and City Appearance Bureau.





Venue: Chinese Water Deer Science Museum

Address: Inside the conservative forest in the north of Tuanjie Village, Yexie Town