Heilongjiang: Significant Recovery of Wildlife Conservation Population Staff | Camera | Heilongjiang
Recently, staff from Muling Forestry Bureau Co., Ltd. of Longjiang Forest Industry Group rediscovered the wild Northeast tiger "Wanda Mountain No.1" through field infrared cameras during routine patrols.
On April 23, 2021, the wild Northeast tiger "Wanda Mountain No.1" entered Linhu Village, Baiyuwan Town, Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province. The relevant departments of Heilongjiang Province carried out field rescue on it and released it to the Laoyeling Mountains of Changbai Mountain on May 18, 2021.
Zhao Yue, a research assistant at the feline animal research center of the National Forestry and Grass Administration of Northeast Forestry University, introduced that the "Wanda Mountain No.1" appearing in the video was captured in April this year. From the footage, it appears to have shiny fur and much stronger than before.
"Wanda Mountain 1" captured by an infrared camera.
In addition to "Wanda Mountain No.1", staff also discovered videos of two Northeast leopards, one large and one small, shuttling through the forest, patrolling their territory and searching for food, in two other infrared cameras.
This is not the first time that Northeast tigers and leopards have appeared in the Muling Forest area. In addition to "Wanda Mountain No.1", there are two other tigers settling here in Muling Forest District, and staff have found their footprints and feces multiple times.
Zhang Minghai, Director of the Feline Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of Northeast Forestry University, said that tigers are large carnivores, located at the top of the food chain, and have extremely high requirements for habitat conditions. The willingness of Northeast tigers to settle in the Muling forest area indicates that it can provide them with a large amount of food, and indirectly indicates that the biodiversity in the Muling forest area is rich, and the ecological environment has been effectively restored.
Perhaps no one knows more about forests than Xu Chunmei and her colleagues at the Dongning Bureau of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Management Bureau. As a member of the patrol team, her and her colleagues mainly work on mountain patrols, monitoring and rescuing wildlife, while also carrying out tasks such as forest fire prevention. "We need to maintain the infrared camera and provide supplementary feeding for some wild animals," Xu Chunmei said.
China has been implementing natural forest protection projects in key state-owned forest areas in Northeast China for many years. With the significant reduction in forest resource consumption, the ecological function of Heilongjiang Province has significantly improved, the water conservation function has significantly enhanced, and the population of wild animals and plants continues to increase.
This is a photo taken on June 28th at the Zhalong National Nature Reserve in western Heilongjiang Province, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Tao
In recent years, the activities of Northeast Tiger and Northeast Leopard in the jurisdiction of Longjiang Forest Industry Group have expanded from 9 forestry bureau limited companies to 14. Since 2021, more than 70 footprints of Northeast Tiger have been monitored by 9 forestry bureau limited companies including Muling and Dongfanghong of Longjiang Forest Industry Group.
At present, there are about 60 wild Northeast tigers in China, a significant increase from around 20 in the 1990s, and the distribution area continues to expand.
Not only the Northeast tiger, but also the growing number of wild animals such as the spotted deer and brown bear in the forest areas of Heilongjiang. Every year, on the banks of the Hailang River in Heilongjiang Province, the figure of the national first-class protected animal, the Chinese sand duck, can be seen. They like to live on wide, fish and shrimp rich riverbanks, and are extremely sensitive to the environment, making them a typical indicator species of river ecology. In recent years, the number of Chinese sand ducks living in the area has increased from a dozen to nearly a hundred.
Wang Shidong, a lookout at the 730 fire tower of Zhonggu Liulin Farm of Longjiang Forest Industry Group Suiyang Forestry Bureau Co., Ltd., has a "forest friend" - a fox who comes to his workplace every day to beg for food.
"We have a lot of wild animals here, and we often see yellow throated minks and the like. This fox always moves around the watchtower and is very close to us," said Wang Shidong.
In the forest areas of Heilongjiang, there are endless interesting stories about wildlife, and the yellow throated mink goes to the kitchen to "steal" the meat just taken from the refrigerator; Hungry hedgehogs come to residents' homes to beg for food, and are stuffed with fruits and pastries on their backs, returning to the big forest with satisfaction... Wang Shidong feels that in recent years, people's awareness of protecting wildlife has significantly increased.
