The extinction club

"For one thousand years, the Milu, an exotic species of deer with the neck of a camel, the horns of a stag, the feet of cow, and the tail of a donkey, existed only in the Chinese emperor's private park in Beijing. But in the second half of the nineteenth century a Basque missionary, Pere David, became the first Westerner ever to see a Milu. Transfixed by the strange beast, he risked his life to obtain a specimen, then embalmed it and sent it to Paris in a diplomatic bag. The preserved remains caused quite a stir across Europe, and zoologists clamored to get hold of a live animal. Within a short time, every major nation in Europe possessed a Milu. But most failed to thrive and died quickly in their new surroundings, and due to war - most notably the Boxer Rebellion - they became extinct in their native habitat as well. Yet the exotic deer were able to survive in one place - Bedfordshire, England - due to the nurturing of a devoted caretaker, the 11th Duke of Bedford, who kept a herd at Woburn Abbey. This labor and persistence paid off nearly a century later in 1986, when part of the British herd was returned to China. And to this day the very rich hunt the Milu - for a steep price -