[Explanation] The person in the picture is Deng Zhengyu, a breeder of Yangtze finless porpoise.
This spring, he took 7 days off and returned to work after only 3 days off.
He has been working for nearly 8 years, and he has never taken a full Spring Festival holiday.
[Same period] Deng Zhengyu, breeder of Yangtze finless porpoise
Our most important thing is to ensure the safety of the finless porpoise, so we basically have people on our side 24 hours a day throughout the year. In the end, there will be no such situation that all of us will leave our jobs, because we will all leave our jobs If you leave the job, the safety of the animal cannot be guaranteed, because the animal also needs to eat.
[Explanation] The Yangtze finless porpoise is a first-class national key protected wild animal in China, known as the "giant panda in the water".
According to the results of the 2017 ecological scientific investigation of the Yangtze finless porpoise, its population is about 1012, and its status is extremely endangered.
[Explanation] Since the 1980s, my country has gradually explored and established three major protection strategies for the Yangtze finless porpoise: in-situ conservation, ex-situ conservation, and captive breeding.
Among them, artificial breeding aims to provide technical support for in-situ and ex-situ conservation by conducting basic biological research such as reproductive biology, physiological ecology, bioacoustics and genetics of Yangtze River dolphins.
[Explanation] The Baiji Dolphin House of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where Deng Zhengyu works, currently has 7 Yangtze finless porpoises, 4 of which are bred in a fully artificial environment.
There are currently 4 full-time breeders here, and each breeder takes care of 1 to 2 finless porpoises on a regular basis.
During the Spring Festival, everyone took turns to be on duty, not daring to be sloppy.
[Same period] Deng Zhengyu, breeder of Yangtze finless porpoise
In addition to the daily breeding and training of finless porpoise, we also need to check the safety of the entire park, ensure the safety of water and electricity in the entire park, and the normal operation of scientific research equipment and facilities.
[Explanation] Ensuring the health of the finless porpoise is the top priority of work.
The finless porpoise can't speak. In daily work, the breeder has to check the body surface of the finless porpoise every day, monitor its food intake and time, and judge its mental state and health status based on this.
[Same period] Deng Zhengyu, breeder of Yangtze finless porpoise
The core job is to ensure the animal’s health. This is our first responsibility. Observe its behavior, including its feeding status, which must be paid attention to.
I observe it every day and contact it every day. If there is any health condition in the animal, I can tell it at a glance.
[Explanation] During these years as a breeder, Deng Zhengyu has witnessed the continuous growth of the finless porpoise family bred in captivity.
In the new year, he hopes that the finless porpoise will grow up healthily, and that more breakthroughs will be made in artificial breeding research.
[Same period] Deng Zhengyu, breeder of Yangtze finless porpoise
During the Spring Festival in the past few years, I spend half of my time with my parents and half of my time with the finless porpoise. I also hope that both my parents and the finless porpoise can be healthy. This is also my biggest wish.
Reporter Zheng Ziyan reports from Wuhan, Hubei
Responsible editor: [Luo Pan]