More than a century ago, as many animal species were hunted to extinction at the imperial hunting ground near Beijing, the rare Pere David's deer were saved because the Chinese royal court sent a few to Europe.
Today, the large, ruddy-colored deer, with antlers that look as though they have been placed on backward, are thriving in special reserves in central and northern China, thanks to a local conservation group that reintroduced the rare animal from a British sanctuary.
