my country's satellite tracking of snow leopards has achieved initial success
Xinhua News Agency, Lanzhou, March 8 (Reporter Wang Mingyu) The reporter learned from the Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve Administration of Gansu that in early February this year, the staff of the Administration successfully wore a positioning collar for a wild snow leopard.
Tracking trajectories in the past month showed that the snow leopard is still active in nearby areas, and the collar and satellite data are basically normal. This indicates that my country's satellite tracking of snow leopards has achieved initial success.
Gansu Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve is located at the western end of the Qilian Mountains and the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a nature reserve focusing on the protection of rare wild animals on the plateau such as white-lipped deer, snow leopards, and wild yaks.
Wuliji, director of the Yanchiwan Protection Station of the Reserve Administration, introduced that in order to strengthen the monitoring and research on snow leopard habitat selection, temporal and spatial dynamics, and promote the formulation and implementation of the snow leopard protection plan, in December 2020, the giant panda Qilian Mountain National Park The Jiuquan Branch of the Gansu Provincial Administration, together with Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Zoo, Jinan Wildlife World and other institutions, carried out satellite tracking of snow leopards in the Yanchiwan area of Qilian Mountain National Park.
Wuliji introduced that after more than two months of patient waiting and continuous monitoring, in early February 2021, the monitoring point of the Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve in Gansu notified that a female snow leopard was successfully captured and was in good physical condition.
Afterwards, the staff will measure various physical signs and install the positioning collar before being released into the field.
Tracking trajectories in the past month show that the snow leopard is still active in nearby areas, and the collar and satellite data are basically normal. This indicates that my country's satellite tracking of snow leopards has achieved initial success.
According to reports, the research team will further analyze the returned satellite data to fully understand the specific conditions of the snow leopard's movement and habitat selection in the Yanchi Bay area.
This mission has accumulated valuable experience for the continued scientific capture and location tracking of medium and large carnivores in the future.
Snow leopard is a national first-class protected animal. As the flagship species of plateau ecosystems, it is regarded as an "indicator" for the health of high-altitude ecosystems. It is mainly distributed in high-altitude areas such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Endangered species.