Elk, a unique species in China, a national first-level protected animal, and a rare animal in the world. At present, there are only about 10,000 elk left in the world, of which less than 4,000 are wild elk.
Recently, the book "Yangtze River Elk", compiled by Hubei Shishou Elk National Nature Reserve, Lei Gang Photography, and China Photography Publishing House , uses 232 photos to show the living conditions and life of the elk from different angles. habits and social structure, etc. Also released simultaneously with the book is the TV documentary "Elk Returning to the Yangtze River", which was created by director and photographer Zhang Rong, aerial photographer and photographer Zhang Jingchuan, etc. It was broadcast in two episodes on the CCTV Documentary Channel in April this year. The English version was broadcast on CGTN (China International Television ) in September.
According to reports, the filming of "Yangtze River Elk" lasted four years. The photographer went deep into the Shishou Elk National Nature Reserve. After a long period of exploration and understanding, he gained the trust of this group of wetland elves. They work day and night, no matter what. Seasonal tracking photography restores the life and story of the elk - full of life tension and primitive touching.
Recently, the creative team told reporters from Hubei Daily the story behind "Yangtze River Elk".
The extinct and reborn wetland elf
Expert research shows that elk thrived in the wetlands of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River 3 million years ago, but the worrying story happened more than 100 years ago.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in turmoil. After experiencing royal hunting, natural and man-made disasters and other large-scale reductions, there were very few elk left, and they were kept in captivity in the Royal Deer Garden of Nanhaizi, Beijing. In 1865, a French missionary saw this species that he had never seen before, so it was named in the taxonomy of animals and became known to the West.
In 1900, the elk became extinct in its native China due to war, floods, famine and other reasons. Fortunately, after World War I, 18 elk that had flowed into Europe were purchased and kept in captivity by the 11th Duke of Beverage, allowing this population to survive.
In 1985, the 14th Duke of Beverley, a descendant of the duke, returned the elk to China. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, 64 elk returned to their hometown of Shishou, Hubei Province in two batches, and have thrived here ever since.
What’s even more amazing is that among the first 18 elk that survived in Europe, only one female was fertile. It can be said that the 10,000 elk currently living in the world are all descendants of that female deer.
"The rebirth of elk from extinction and their return to their homeland is related to their own strong vitality and the fate of the country. They became extinct when China was weak and barren, were introduced after reform and opening up, and flourished again during the construction of ecological civilization." According to the creative team of "Yangtze River Elk", the elk returned to the motherland from overseas, then returned to its native place, and finally returned to nature and wildness. Behind these three "returns" are revealed many signals and codes, including history, politics, culture, ecology, etc. These deeply attracted the filming team.
In 2019, the film crew officially entered the Shishou Elk Reserve and started shooting. Although there have been documentaries on the Yangtze River elk before, the wild elk population at that time was only a few hundred, but by 2019 there were thousands. "When wild elk populations undergo quantitative changes, their behavior, habits, and social structure will definitely undergo some changes, so this shooting is even more meaningful." This is the common feeling of the filming team.
Every living creature deserves to be respected
What kind of vitality does the elk have that has made people worry about it for more than ten years?
They are full of vitality and full of vitality.
This vitality is especially obvious when courting and in crisis.
During the mating season, the elk herd enters the most "busy" time of the year. bucks and people start to "smell" and attract doe. What's more important is the "deer king's struggle" to compete for mating rights and pass on life.
wrote in "Yangtze River Elk": From the perspective of photography and viewing, of course the fighting is exciting. It is really murderous, tense, dark and desperate, fighting - pushing, hitting, bombing, smashing, pulling, arching, Lifting, drowning, and tactics such as the tiger tearing out the heart, the Taishan crushing the top, and the yellow dragon are all used one by one, and they are used in every possible way.In the water, on the beach, on the grass, under the trees, there are battlefields everywhere.
When encountering danger, the elk show another kind of tenacity. The photographer told a story: In August 2020, due to flood siege, most of the grassland in the core area of the reserve was submerged, and the elk lacked food. However, the safety area separated by a fence has grass to eat because the terrain is slightly higher. The young and powerful male elk rushed forward one after another, using their antlers to push, kicking with their hooves, and hitting with their bodies. Their roars and collisions filled the sky with anger, and finally they broke open two big holes in the little-finger-thick protective net. Got into the safe zone.
They are smart, smart and charming.
The elk play in the water, lie on the mud, fight, and suck on the wetland. They are either cute or naive, vigorous or elegant... "Yangtze River Elk" shows the different expressions and behaviors of the elk, and their smart eyes will say. The film team discovered that elk, which like to live in groups, not only communicate with their own kind, but also with humans who make them feel safe. They are very smart and have a social organizational structure that is more conducive to survival and reproduction.
They respect the old and love the young, and they love their calves deeply.
Young elk are particularly cute, well-behaved and pitiful. They are also the "special caretakers" of the entire herd. The "mother" is responsible for taking care of them, while the "father", "uncle" and "brothers" are responsible for guarding them. Especially when moving in groups, the herd will protect old and weak elk in a special formation: the experienced doe takes the lead to find the way forward, the young elk and old elk are in the middle of the group, and the young bucks are on both sides of the group. Be on guard, and the mature stag will stay behind for protection.
"There is something noble about all living things, and humans can learn a lot from them. The more we film, the more we love them, and every life deserves to be respected." The most emotional scene for the film crew was when an elk When it is about to reach the end of its life, it will leave the deer herd and die alone so as not to affect the deer herd.
Love me, please stay away from me
In the book "Yangtze River Elk", a chapter is specially reserved for an elk. It plays in the water alone, chases cars, stands in the middle of the road and looks at the camera... Every photo shows Come on, this is an elk with a story.
This elk is named "Tuanyuan", and every member of the film crew shed tears for it.
"Tuanyuan" was separated from her mother when she was a child and could not survive. The staff of the reserve had to artificially feed her. The purpose of naming it is to hope that it will return to the deer herd as soon as possible and reunite with its family.
However, during the five years of being with people, "Tuanyuan" has developed deep emotions and dependence on human beings. As long as you hear the voice of Yang Tao, the "nanny" who feeds it, and see Yang Tao's figure, "Tuanyuan" will immediately approach.
"Tuan Yuan" has never seen the same kind. It only sees humans and trusts them very much. "It may think it is a human." This is a great deal for "Tuan Yuan" who will eventually return to the wild and the herd of deer. obstacles. When adapting to the new environment in the transition zone, "Tuanyuan" will immediately follow the sound as soon as it hears a human voice, but is very afraid of the elk that intrudes into the transition zone.
After that, the staff led "Tuanyuan" to the place where the elk group was again and again, but "Tuanyuan" ran back alone, and so on, five times and three times.
One day, "Reunion" discovered the filming team's camera car in the reserve. It excitedly stopped the car and put its head into the car, trying to find its familiar "daddy" and other humans; it pressed its head against the car body , sniffing and licking the car body, seeming to be coquettish, looking for the familiar taste. When the car left "cruelly", it ran after the car reluctantly.
"Faced with such a scene, everyone was sighing and crying silently, but we had to leave. This is everyone's true love for wild animals." Senior photographer Lei Gang said.
"Reunion" is the epitome of the relationship between wild animals and humans. The book says: Just like the famous saying in the wildlife protection circle, if you really love me, then please stay away from me.
In order to provide more and better living space for wild animals, the filming team continued to pay attention to the nature reserve after the filming.
Shishou Elk National Nature Reserve and Yangtze River Tian'ezhou Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve are both located on the old course of the Yangtze River in Tian'ezhou. In recent years, Lei Gang, as an expert at the Hubei CPPCC think tank, has called on different occasions to establish the Yangtze River Old Route National Park sooner rather than later. The Culture, History and Study Committee of the Provincial CPPCC submitted his suggestion as a collective proposal at the fourth session of the 12th CPPCC Provincial Committee. It attracted great attention and was listed as a key proposal of the Provincial CPPCC and followed up and supervised.
"The old Yangtze River is a masterpiece of nature. It better retains and embodies the authenticity, integrity and biodiversity of the Yangtze River ecology. , which is extremely rare among the world's major rivers." The proposal mentioned that if Swan is used With the Yangtze River Ancient Road as the core, planning and construction of the Yangtze River Ancient Road National Park can integrate the natural geography, natural wetland ecosystem and the protection of rare and endangered wild animals and plants, which will certainly help to comprehensively restore ecosystem functions and wild animal and plant ecology. environment and leave precious natural heritage to future generations.
"We will continue to pay attention to the ecological construction of Hubei and do our best to protect nature." The filming team said that in the next step, they will continue to shoot golden monkey, finless porpoise and other rare species protected in Hubei, leaving More images can arouse more people's attention and love for nature.
(Hubei Daily all-media reporter Chen Xi)
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