Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii) have been spotted for the first time in 20 years in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) of southwestern Mondulkiri province.

WCS Cambodia on June 16 released images captured by camera trap on April 24 of three young Eld’s deer grazing in the KSWS.

The NGO underscored the “significant threats” that the Eld’s deer faces, listing snaring, dog hunting, trophy hunting and habitat loss as prime examples. The species “is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List and is one of Cambodia’s rarest large mammals, as their population has declined sharply across Cambodia at an alarming rate.

“Without urgent conservation measures, Eld’s deer are likely to be extinct across Cambodia soon. However, it is not too late to bring the Eld's deer back from the brink of extinction within Cambodia, though it is likely a captive breeding programme will be needed alongside these actions,” it said.

Although no rigorous studies have been conducted on the population of the deer, WWF-Cambodia, another wildlife conservation NGO, recently said that their numbers in the Kingdom had dropped by “90 per cent or more” in 2001-2010.

In September 2020, it said its camera traps had captured the first images of the deer in Kratie province’s Sambor Wildlife Sanctuary, located within the Mekong Flooded Forest (MFF) Landscape, in around five years.

For reference, Sambor Wildlife Sanctuary covers 50,093ha in Kratie’s Sambor district, while MFF spans 2.7 million hectares in Kampong Thom, Kratie, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear provinces, according to the WWF.