Chinanews.com, Hulunbeier, February 22, title: "Recorder" in Xiaogushan: Over the mountains to protect the "worldly elves"

　　Author Zhang Wei Zhang Dongyang

　　The warmth of spring has not yet spread to the depths of Daxing'an Mountains in Inner Mongolia. Wenbo and his colleagues walked through the dense forest early in the morning through thick snow, looking for the traces of white roe deer.

"In May last year, we observed a white roe deer at the Vinahe Forest Farm in the Ewenki Autonomous Banner."

　　White roe deer, white deer, etc. were regarded as national treasures or fetishes in ancient times. Historically, there are very rare records of white roe deer. The records of white roe deer can be traced back to the Qianlong period.

　　"The white fur of the white roe deer is an albinism phenomenon caused by a genetic mutation. This mutation is extremely important to wild animal research. Is it affecting the next generation? Is there a genetic mutation in the individual or in the population? Both need continuous observation and recording." Wen Bo told the reporter that the white roe deer is the "giant panda" in the forest.

The picture shows Wen Bo and his colleagues stepping into the dense forest to look for traces of white roe deer and poachers.

Photo by Kai Chao

　　It is precisely because of its rarity that the white roe deer has become the target of criminals.

Wenbo is a caretaker at the Xiaogushan Management and Protection Station of the Weinahe Forest Farm of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner Forest and Grass Bureau in Hulunbeier City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He and his colleagues have been looking for this "old friend" for a week, but nothing has been found, which makes Wenbo very anxious .

　　Following Wenbo's footprints in the snow, the reporter walked clumsily with one deep step and one shallow step.

　　In May 2022, Wenbo and his colleagues discovered this white roe deer during patrolling. There are more than 20 of its living populations. In order to keep the life of the white roe undisturbed, Wenbo and his colleagues guard its activity area every day.

　　"When it's too cold, they stay in the river loop to shelter from the wind. When the sun comes out, they run to the top of the mountain." Wen Boha's anger formed frost on the edge of his hat.

　　Wen Bo walked through the dense forest and came to the frozen river. Wen Bo found the traces of the roe deer. Following the footprints, he finally found the white roe deer in the river loop.

　　"When the white roe looked back at us, it felt so happy, as if it knew that we were here to protect it." Wen Bo said that the animals are safe, which is what he is most happy about.

The picture shows Wenbo and his colleagues discovering the white roe deer.

Photo by Ogo

　　The 42-year-old Wen Bo has worked in the Vina River Forest Farm for 20 years. Mountain patrolling and forest protection and real-time monitoring of wild animals and plants have become part of his life.

　　"Over the years of work, I have encountered rare animals such as moose, red deer, lynx, and catcat. However, due to the limitation of monitoring equipment, it is difficult to leave video data." For Wenbo, monitoring and protecting wild animals is the most difficult It is not about climbing ice, lying on snow, and crossing mountains and mountains, but regretting that they cannot clearly preserve their precious image data.

　　"I rescued two owl cubs more than ten years ago, they were very cute." Recalling his intimate relationship with wild animals, Wen Bo is like a child, "The satisfaction of releasing them to nature after careful feeding , really indescribable."

　　Last year, Wenbo bought a drone by himself "spending huge sums of money" and met this white roe deer, "I have been monitoring it for nearly a year, and now it has bred two cubs, the coat color of which is the same as that of ordinary roe deer , and no genetic mutation occurred.”

　　The woodland area of ​​Vinahe Forest Farm is more than 1.04 million mu, with a forest coverage rate of 50%.

Under the protection of Wen Bo and his colleagues, in recent years, the number of rare animal populations such as roe deer, fox, red deer, wolf, moose, and lynx in this forest farm has continued to increase.

　　Wen Bo said that especially the number of wild roe deer has increased significantly, and almost a dozen or dozens of them can be encountered every day during daily patrols.

"According to incomplete statistics, there must be thousands of them in the Xiaogushan Sanctuary."

　　Patrolling mountains to guard and photographing wild animals, the recorders of Wenbo have an ordinary and passionate journey, guarding these "worldly elves" day after day, and never stop.

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