( Southwest Business Daily reporter Zhao Die) The reporter learned from the Chengdu Management Branch of the Giant Panda National Park that recently, an infrared camera deployed in the core area of wildlife activities at an altitude of 2,900 meters in the Chongzhou area of the Giant Panda National Park recorded the takin family belt. The scene of the newly born takin babies traveling together and looking for food attracted widespread attention after the news was reported by the media.
In fact, in recent years, these "guests" living in the wild have appeared in people's sight more than once. With the official establishment of Giant Panda National Park , Chengdu's pilot project to promote the giant panda national park system has also entered a new stage of comprehensive advancement. Human activities have withdrawn from the mountains and forests, and hydropower stations and mining plants have gradually disappeared; the area of protected areas has expanded; more protection stations and more intensive patrols have been established; the waterfalls in the mountains have returned, and so have the wild animals.
How much do you know about these wild animals? Let's get to know these "elves" living in the Giant Panda National Park -
Giant Pandas
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) belongs to the order Carnivora, Ursidae , subfamily Ailuropodae, and genus Ailuropoda. of mammals. The giant panda has lived on the earth for about 8 million years and is known as a "living fossil" and "China's national treasure". It is the image ambassador of the World Wildlife Fund and the flagship species of the world's biodiversity conservation. It is good at climbing trees and loves to play. The behavior of climbing trees is generally a way for the weak to avoid the strong when the marriage proposal is approaching, or to escape danger, or when they meet each other.
Although people are no strangers to giant pandas, the captive giant pandas we see in zoos and Panda Base are actually different from the wild giant pandas living in the Giant Panda National Park. In a captive environment, giant pandas can be said to be pampered and have a gentle personality. They often do many funny behaviors and are very cute and healing. But giant pandas living in the wild seem to be another species.
In the wild, wild giant pandas possess the unique ferocity, strength and opportunism of bears. When they fight for mating rights in March and April every year, under the tall fir trees, the male pandas bark and chase and fight. At this time, they change their usual shy and docile character. In addition, wild giant panda mothers teach their children various skills to survive in the wilderness when they are young. Therefore, in the wild, wild giant pandas can demonstrate amazing survivability and are truly "Kung Fu Pandas".
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, the threat level of giant pandas has been reduced from "endangered" to "vulnerable".
Red Panda
The Red Panda (scientific name: Ailurus fulgens) is an animal in the Red Panda family and the genus Red Panda. Males and females are similar and there is no dimorphism. It looks like a cat, but is fatter than a cat, and its body is reddish-brown. It is worth noting that the red panda is not the childhood of the giant panda. The giant panda and the red panda are two different animals. It especially likes to bask in the sun on sunny cliffs or on the tops of big trees. Sichuan people like to call it "Shan Mendun'er". In 2021, the red panda was included in China's "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals", which is a second-level national protected animal.
Snow leopard
Snow leopard (Panthera uncia, English: Snow leopard) is a large cat that often moves near the snow line and in the snow, hence the name "Snow Leopard". Its fur is gray-white with black spots and rings, and its tail is long and thick. It is an excellent protective color among the rocks and is known as the "King of Snow Mountains". Snow leopards are at the top of the plateau ecological food chain and are also known as "the barometer of the health of high-altitude ecosystems", which can protect the fauna and ecosystems of the entire alpine area. As efforts are invested in the protection of "umbrella species" such as giant pandas, other sympatric species can also be protected at the same time.The frequent appearance of snow leopards in the Chengdu area of the Giant Panda National Park also means that the ecological diversity in this area is increasingly rich and the ecological protection is effective.
Sichuan takin
Sichuan takin, also called takin, belongs to the order Artiodactyla, Bovidae ( Caveidae ), subfamily Caprine, and the genus Sichuan takin. It is a national first-level key protected wild animal. The Sichuan takin is an alpine animal that inhabits high-altitude mountain cliff areas. Like most mountain animals, they have the habit of migrating with the seasons. In July and August every year, they will climb to high mountain areas above 3,000 meters above sea level to court mates. However, there are also some Sichuan takin who will stubbornly stay in one altitude zone and do not migrate vertically from to . Therefore, in different seasons, its distribution can be seen in mountains ranging from 900 meters above sea level to 3500 meters above sea level. During the germination of plants at low altitudes and the arrival of frost at high altitudes in September, Sichuan takin mainly chooses to move around in low-altitude valley shrubs and low mountain shrubs.
Sichuan golden monkey
Sichuan golden monkey (scientific name: Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an animal of the genus Rhinopithecus in the family Monidae. Among the golden monkeys , there are Burmese golden monkeys ( Nujiang golden monkeys ), Sichuan golden monkeys, Yunnan golden monkeys , Guizhou golden monkeys , Vietnamese golden monkeys 5 species. Among them, except for the Burmese golden monkeys and Vietnamese golden monkeys, they are all from China. Unique and precious animals. The Sichuan golden monkey is known as the "giant panda in the monkey world" and is a national first-level protected animal in China. In 2021, staff at the Pengzhou Management and Protection Station in the Chengdu area of the Giant Panda National Park discovered during infrared camera data collection that the giant panda is located in Huilonggou. The infrared camera in the area captured a large number of pictures and videos of golden monkey activities. More than 50 "Monkey Kings" appeared in front of the camera. Such a scene is extremely rare.
Blue sheep
Blue sheep (scientific name: Pseudois nayaur), medium in size, with a shape between wild goat and wild sheep, is a national second-level protected wild animal. In terms of its body shape, blue sheep is very similar to a sheep, but its horns are not coiled, but similar to a goat. It lives in high mountain bare rock areas between 2100-6300 meters above sea level. The height of its habitat varies in different areas, but Not found in forests and shrubs, it has strong cold resistance. Blue sheep mainly feed on alpine desert plants such as wormwood, carex, and stipa, as well as the branches and leaves of shrubs such as rhododendron, meadowsweet, and goldenrod. The feeding time is not very fixed, and they often feed and rest during the day.
Forest musk deer
Forest musk deer (scientific name: Moschus berezovskii) The smallest species of musk deer , it is a national secondary protected wild animal. It mainly inhabits mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, and is also suitable for living in the habitats of coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests with poor canopy density. The habitat height can reach 2000-3800 meters, but it can also survive in low altitude environments. Forest musk deer have sensitive vision and hearing and will quickly flee or hide in rocks when encountering special sounds. They can walk briskly and nimbly on steep cliffs, climb sloping tree trunks, stand on branches, and are also good at jumping, and can jump more than 2 meters from the flat ground.
"Man and nature are a community with a shared future. We must work together, act quickly, protect while developing, develop while protecting, and build a beautiful homeland in which all things are harmonious." According to the Chengdu Management Branch of the Giant Panda National Park, in fact, giant pandas There are far more wild animals in the Chengdu area of the national park. In recent years, staff have repeatedly discovered traces of a variety of rare wild animals through infrared camera monitoring lenses. At the same time, many villagers living nearby can even "encounter" them by chance. This phenomenon also demonstrates the fruitful results Chengdu has achieved in protecting biological diversity and promoting the construction of the Giant Panda National Park.
(picture provided by Giant Panda National Park Chengdu Management Branch)
