IMAGES of Fea’s muntjac, a rare species of muntjac, were captured recently in Medog County of Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, the local forestry and grassland administration said yesterday.

Staffers of a regional forestry institute noticed clear images of the rare species while reviewing data recorded by infrared cameras installed in the county.

The infrared cameras captured more than 1,200 photographs of the Fea’s muntjac, the first clear images of the species in nearly 40 years in Tibet, according to the administration.

Skeletal specimens of Fea’s muntjac were discovered in Tibet’s Nyingchi between 1982 and 1983.

The administration said that the distribution, population number and existing status of this species in the wild remain unknown so far.

“This discovery is helpful in clarifying the link between Fea’s muntjac and other muntjac species, and it also illustrates the rich biodiversity of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon,” said Zhang Jiaping, an official with the administration.

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is the world’s deepest canyon, with a maximum depth of 6,009 meters. (Xinhua)