Images of forest musk deer - a national first-class protected wild animal - were captured on an infrared camera in the suburbs of Huaxi district, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. This marks the second recorded sighting of this endangered species in Guiyang, following a sighting at Aha Lake National Wetland Park in 2021.

A forest musk deer is captured on an infrared camera in the suburbs of Huaxi district, Guiyang. [Photo/Tianyan News]

China is home to six species of the genus Moschus, all of which are classified as national first-class protected wild animals. Only the forest musk deer can be found in Guizhou. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, Critically Endangered (CR) on China's Red List of Biodiversity, and is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The forest musk deer is naturally timid and secretive, requiring a pristine habitat for survival. Its appearance in Huaxi suggests that there may be a remnant wild population that has survived in the extensive forests on the outskirts of the city. This also provides evidence of Guiyang's significant achievement in improving its ecosystems.