Silver pheasants, Indian muntjac seen in same footage in SW China’s Yunnan

Photo shows silver pheasants and an Indian muntjac living in harmony at the Xiaoheishan Provincial Nature Reserve in Longling county, Baoshan city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of the Xiaoheishan Provincial Nature Reserve)

A rare scene of silver pheasants and an Indian muntjac living in harmony was recently captured by infrared cameras installed at a nature reserve in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

The animals were found at the Xiaoheishan Provincial Nature Reserve in Longling county, Baoshan city, Yunnan after technicians sorted through pictures and video clips shot on the cameras.

A video clip shows the Indian muntjac lying on the ground, licking and scratching itself while several silver pheasants strolled near it, indicating that the wild animals are living in harmony at the reserve.

It is an unprecedented scene at the reserve, where infrared cameras have been installed at over 40 monitoring sites, according to Feng Siqin, a technician at the reserve.

The rare scene indicates there is sufficient food for the two species at the reserve, which is the notable result of local ecological protection, and enhanced diversity and stability in the local ecosystem, said Deng Xiaobao, a senior engineer at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Yunnan.

Deng added that the reserve’s sound ecological environment makes it an ideal habitat for wild animals.

The silver pheasant is a species under second-class state protection in China and feeds widely on insects, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds.

The Indian muntjac, also known as the southern red muntjac and barking deer, is included on the country's list of terrestrial wild animals under state protection and is of important ecological, scientific and social value.