NANCHANG, July 29 (Xinhua) -- An infrared camera has captured rare images of a female wild sika deer and her fawn in Taohongling Nature Reserve in east China's Jiangxi Province, staff with the reserve said Monday.

The footage, taken on July 26, showed the fawn lying beside the mother, and the mother pricking up her ears in alert when a bird suddenly flew over.

"Although images of spotted deer have been captured before, it's rare to see a picture of both a mother and her fawn," said Liu Xiaohong, a staff member with the reserve.

The Taohongling Nature Reserve, covering a total area of 125 square km in the city of Jiujiang, is an important protection base for wild sika deer, an endangered species under top national protection in China.

Thanks to its improved environment, the reserve has seen the number of wild sika deer increase from less than 60 to nearly 400 in recent years.