"EXTINCT" VAMPIRE DEER SURVIVES WAR AND AFGHAN POACHERS

The last time a scientist confirmed a sighting of the elusive Kashmir musk deer, World War II had drawn to a close just a few short years earlier. In the decades that followed, it began to seem likely that deforestation, unregulated hunting and warfare spanning generations in the animals’ native Afghanistan had driven it to extinction.

That is until a team of researchers spent considerable time interviewing locals in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan in 2008, then conducted a wildlife survey of the area, which confirmed the presence of at least one pair of the odd-looking animal that carries the trademark big eyes and overall gentle cuteness of most deer species, but with the addition of a large set of fangs protruding from the snout of the male of the species.

“Musk deer are one of Afghanistan’s living treasures,” said Peter Zahler, Deputy Director of Asia Programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society and co-author of the survey findings recently published in the journal Oryx. 

“This rare species, along with better known wildlife such as snow leopards, are the natural heritage of this struggling nation.”

The researchers also documented the carcass of a female musk deer that had been hunted in one of the villages in the region, pointing to one of the contributing factors keeping the animal out of the public eye.

“This was the first time the species was photographed in Afghanistan,” the report claims.

In addition to problems with security in Afghanistan, tracking down the musk deer is also difficult due to the inaccessible and often rocky terrain that is the animals’ preferred range.

The species is considered endangered and the WCS says its scent glands can fetch as much as $45,000 per kilogram on the black market, making it a target for poachers.

The report’s authors say musk deer need to be targeted for conservation and habitat preservation if the species is to survive, but perhaps the best indication of how likely this is to happen also comes from the WCS, which notes in its press release that conservation workers were forced to leave Nuristan in 2010 due to deteriorating security conditions.  

Anyway, I'll get outaya way now....

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