The rare Hainan slopy deers of the same family as the sike deers are now under the state's key protection. In China they are found only on Hainan Island and have been classed in the first level of national protected animals.

According to records made over the past hundreds of years slopy deers were in great evidence in Hainan Island. A wild—tempered animal, the slopy deer makes it home on hill sides and slopes, where it lives on tender shoots, leaves and berries. It is much prized for its beautiful patterned coat and male deer's antler is of valuable medicinal properties. By 1970s there is not much left.

Urgent action saved this animal from the brink of extinction, and establishing the Datian Nature Reserve is an important measure taken to ensure its survival.

Datian Nature Reserve is situated in Dongfang County, Hainan Province, covering 2500 hectares. Luxuriant tropical forests offer the rare animals an ideal habitat. Since the opening of the Datian Nature Reserve in 1976 the number of slopy deers has multiplied to more than 300.