The species is threatened by a number of human threats. Core habitat of Bukhara deer are the riparian forests (tugai forests) in the basins of major rivers in Central Asia. Artificial regulation of the water regime, habitat destruction and illegal hunting are the main reasons for the deer’s alarming decline in numbers. Only a few hundred animals remained in 2002, scattered in a few small populations in limited areas. Historically the species' area of distribution included the river valleys of Amudaria and Syrdaria and their river catchments. Since the inception of the MOU, Bukhara deer populations in the region have steadily recovered.