CHANGSHA -- Three forest musk deer were captured on infrared cameras wandering or enjoying sunbathing in a national nature reserve in Central China's Hunan province, the reserve's administration said on Wednesday.

Staff with the Badagongshan National Nature Reserve found the photos and video clips of the animals when they dismounted 60 infrared cameras installed in the reserve for wildlife monitoring.

"We found the deer in three areas at three different times, with the longest distance between two of them reaching 43 km, which shows the forest musk deer are widely distributed in the reserve and have a growing population," said Xiang Jianjun, an official with the reserve.

"Timid and living alone, the forest musk deer usually rest during the day and only come out in the morning and evening. With excellent eyesight and hearing, they will quickly escape or hide when encountering suspicious noises. It is therefore extremely difficult to capture their images," Xiang said.

To protect the habitats and living environment of the endangered animal, the nature reserve will increase the deployment of infrared cameras for wildlife monitoring.

Forest musk deer are under national first-class protection and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list. There are 4,000 to 4,500 forest musk deer living in the wild.