NANCHANG -- A total of 40 artificially-bred water deers, a rare species under the second class national protection, have been released into the wild by forestry authorities in East China's Jiangxi province.

Forestry workers weighed and attached satellite trackers to 10 of the deers before the release earlier this month near the Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake of China, according to the provincial forestry bureau.

The water deers that can swim are rare in the lake area of Poyang and the release will help increase their number in the area, said an official with the bureau.

In recent years, Poyang Lake has seen improved environment with strengthened conservation efforts, providing better ecology for the inhabitation of wildlife.