Green Peacock Guardian (People's Eyes Strengthening Biodiversity Protection)
Introduction
In early summer, in the Dinosaur River State-level Nature Reserve in Shuangbai County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, a green peacock with brightly colored feathers landed beside a valley and river beach, chirping, pacing, and suddenly unfolding a huge tail screen.
The photographer repeatedly presses the shutter to capture the moment.
"On the premise of not disturbing it, we sometimes take photos during the patrol process, so that more people can understand and participate in the protection of green peacocks." Zhao Tongrong, the ranger of the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve, said, "In recent years, we have Regular patrol monitoring is carried out, and the number of green peacocks is seen more and more."
The green peacock with an erect crest on its head and gorgeous coverts on its back is the only native native peacock in my country today. It is a national first-class protected wild animal. Currently, it is only distributed in the central, western and southern regions of Yunnan Province, mainly inhabiting the Honghe River. The mountains in the basins of the Lancang River and Nu River are protected by the state and Yunnan Province as a very small population species.
On October 9, 2021, a press conference held by the Information Office of the Yunnan Provincial Government introduced that the wild population of green peacocks has recovered from less than 500 in 2017 to 555 to 600, with the number rising steadily.
On October 12, 2021, President Xi Jinping pointed out in his keynote speech at the 15th Conference of the Parties Leaders' Summit of the Convention on Biological Diversity: "China has achieved remarkable results in the construction of ecological civilization. The trip to the north and the return trip allowed us to see the achievements of China in protecting wild animals. China will continue to promote the construction of ecological civilization, unswervingly implement the new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, and build a beautiful China.”
The steady increase in the wild population of green peacocks is a footnote in my country's continuous promotion of ecological civilization construction and the strengthening of biodiversity protection.
In recent years, Yunnan Province has compiled a biodiversity conservation project plan, in which special protection measures have been put forward for extremely small populations and endangered species; an outline of the conservation and emergency action plan for the rescue and conservation of extremely small populations has been compiled, and the green peacock is given priority for protection. One of the 20 key species in Yunnan Province; issued the ecological protection red line of Yunnan Province, including the habitat of 26 rare species including the green peacock.
A few days ago, the reporter visited the story of the protection and restoration of the green peacock population in Yunnan.
Patrol monitoring
The combination of field investigation and video monitoring not only records green peacock activities in real time, but also reduces human interference
"I haven't seen each other for many years, but I didn't expect the green peacocks to come back - 8 green peacocks have come to my farm frequently in the past two years." Li Jiaxiu, a farmer in Zhelong Township, Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, said proudly, "They sometimes They will come to grab chicken feed, and we will hide from afar to avoid disturbing them."
The green peacock mainly inhabits tropical and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests below 2000 meters above sea level.
Yang Xiaojun, a researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has been researching green peacocks for many years, said: "Since the 1970s, with the continuous increase of human activities, the habitat of green peacocks has been gradually destroyed, and the population has continued to decline."
In the 1990s, Yang Xiaojun and his colleagues conducted a survey on the background resources of the green peacock population. They visited more than a dozen green peacock habitats according to literature records, and only saw green peacocks in the dense forest of Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er City: A big, emerald-green bird leaped into the air, spreading its wings and flying over a sturdy tree.
"In the field investigation for more than 10 years, I have only seen green peacocks a few times, indicating that the population is not optimistic, and their protection is imminent." Yang Xiaojun said.
Since 2013, under the guidance of the former Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department, Yang Xiaojun's research team has cooperated with the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve to strengthen the monitoring and protection of green peacocks.
"We tried to deploy infrared cameras in the reserve to record the green peacocks' activities in real time without disturbing their lives," said Yang Xiaojun.
In August of that year, Zhao Tongrong and several enthusiastic villagers from the surrounding villages of the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve became the rangers of the reserve.
They deployed infrared cameras in areas where green peacocks may be active to assist in 24-hour monitoring.
There are tricks to setting up an infrared camera.
Zhao Tongrong introduced: "Set up a location about 200 meters apart. In places with steep terrain, the infrared camera should be tied to a higher tree trunk, and in places with flat terrain, it should be set at a low position to make the shooting angle wider. "
Dressed in the morning light, the reporter followed Zhao Tongrong up the mountain for patrol in the morning.
He is responsible for patrolling the key area of the reserve, Mojiawan, which is an area with a large population of green peacocks.
Walking along the route with the infrared cameras, Zhao Tongrong walked very lightly.
He deliberately avoided the dead branches and leaves on the ground so as not to make a noise when he stepped on it.
Walking to a big tree, Zhao Tongrong took off the infrared camera tied to the trunk, checked and replaced the battery and memory card, and ensured that the infrared camera was operating normally.
"I go into the mountains for about 20 days a month, and go back and forth about 20 kilometers every day. Along the way, we should pay attention to whether there are outsiders breaking into the reserve, and discourage villagers who enter the reserve by mistake." Zhao Tongrong said, "I will replace the memory when I return home. Insert the card into the computer, search for green peacocks from a large number of video materials, intercept useful video clips, record the changes in the population of green peacocks, and then provide relevant information to the reserve managers and Yang Xiaojun's team."
The process of investigation and monitoring is also the process of scientific research and protection.
In order to study the behavior of green peacocks, Yang Xiaojun's team has conducted field investigations in the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve for a long time, observing and recording information such as vegetation types, vegetation stratification, soil moisture content, and water source distances in the green peacock habitat.
"Through field investigations and surveillance videos, we observed the green peacock's utilization of different vegetation, the range of activities, the rhythm of activity, and the frequency of calls, so as to carry out more targeted protection measures such as food supplementation and water supplementation." Yang Xiaojun said.
After years of research, Yang Xiaojun's team discovered an interesting phenomenon: green peacocks are gregarious creatures. When the population goes out, the adult male green peacocks mostly stand at a high place and are responsible for vigilance.
During the breeding season in March and April, males will chirp as they mark their territory.
"So, finding this male peacock can roughly judge the activity range and number of a certain population." Yang Xiaojun said.
"Patrol monitoring has reduced human activities and human interference in the reserve. Under the guidance of experts, our monitoring method has become more scientific." Zhao Tongrong said, "Now I know which male peacock is aggressive and which group of green peacocks has increased by a few. Only a small peacock, and make monitoring records and follow-up protection."
Monitoring data at the end of 2021 shows that the population of green peacocks in the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve has increased from 56 in 2015 to 160 in 2021.
In recent years, Yunnan Province has successively organized green peacock field population surveys and patrol monitoring projects in 6 important habitats of green peacocks in 5 cities and prefectures, and established and improved a normalized monitoring system combining field surveys and video monitoring.
Li Peng, director of the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Bureau, said: "The video monitoring results in recent years show that the green peacock population's activity area is shifting and spreading, the habitat range is expanding year by year, and the population is ushering in a recovery growth. "
hydration and food
Establish appropriate water and food supplementation points to basically meet the survival needs of green peacocks in the area
What do green peacocks eat and drink in the wild?
The reporter followed Li Chaofu, the ranger of Yubaiding Nature Reserve in Yuxi City, to patrol the mountain to find out.
In April, there was a shortage of water in the forest. On the day of departure, Li Chaofu carried a 50-pound bucket up the mountain.
After walking on the mountain road for more than half an hour, the reporter has been unable to keep up with the trip.
Li Chaofu walked ahead with a steady pace.
Every two weeks, Li Chaofu would bring some food and carry 50 catties of water on his back.
"Following adult green peacocks to travel long distances to drink water, small peacocks are easily hunted by natural enemies and are also prone to illness. Yubaiding Nature Reserve has built more than 10 water replenishment points for green peacocks, and there is one on this route I patrol. This can ensure that there is water all year round in the range where they are often active, and improve the survival rate of young peacocks." Li Chaofu introduced.
Hydration is not just physical activity.
Walking to the water replenishment point, I saw a plastic bucket the size of the bucket on Li Chaofu's back hanging on a tree. A water hose was connected to the hole under the bucket, and the pipe was covered with a thin bamboo tube.
The water slowly flows into the bamboo trough under the tree along the hose. The bamboo trough is made of a thick bamboo with only a slit in the upper middle, just enough for the green peacock to stretch its mouth to drink water.
"If the water is poured into the depression, it will be ruined by wild boars in the forest within two days, and it cannot be accurately fed to the green peacock. The water pipe is wrapped with a layer of bamboo pipe to prevent it from being bitten by wild boars and other animals." Li Chao Fubian Busy while talking.
Seeing that there was not much water in the bucket on the tree, he skillfully pulled out the water pipe, replaced the bucket, and inserted it into a new bucket. "One bucket of water is enough for about 10 days."
Supplements are also important.
"May and June are the rainy seasons here every year, and there is sufficient food in the forest, and no intervention is required. But at other times, the food in the forest will decrease. Especially in March and April, there are not many fruits of the hemp oak trees on the mountain. , can only provide a small amount of food for the green peacock." Li Chaofu said.
Going to a feeding point, I saw a high artificially built platform.
"Green peacocks love to eat peas and corn kernels, and their living habits are similar to chickens." Li Chaofu said while scattering the peas and corn kernels he carried with him on the platform, "Green peacocks and other birds can fly up to feed, wild boars, etc. Not enough."
"On the premise of minimizing human interference, we have established appropriate water and food supplementation points in places where green peacocks often move, which can basically meet the survival needs of green peacocks in the region." said Jiang Guanghou, director of Yuxi Forestry and Grassland Bureau.
"In vegetation restoration, considering the living habits of green peacocks, we explored the use of 'tree-shrub-grass (bean)' measures in some areas to optimize the forest structure and increase the food sources of green peacocks." Li Peng introduced, Since the "13th Five-Year Plan", Yunnan Province has invested a total of 12.27 million yuan in special funds, taking measures such as replenishing water and food, and restoring habitats to increase the protection of green peacock populations and their habitats.
scientific breeding
Explore the artificial breeding method of green peacock, and the artificial breeding population of purebred green peacock has been initially established
In February 2019, with the support of the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Bureau, the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center cooperated with several scientific research teams including Yang Xiaojun's team. Artificial breeding of peacocks.
Where can I find the parents needed for breeding?
Yang Xiaojun has considered capturing the provenance of green peacocks from the wild, which not only requires strict evaluation and approval, but also affects the growth of wild populations.
Yang Xiaojun's team once set their sights on the zoo.
Zoos in some places say that they have green peacocks there. On the spot, most of them are hybrids of blue and green peacocks. Only a few individuals whose appearance and characteristics are basically the same as those of green peacocks have been found.
They quickly extracted the genetic material and compared it with a green peacock feather found in the wild for genetic sequencing, but the result was nothing but joy.
In October 2019, the wildlife protection management department accidentally discovered and rescued six green peacocks, two males and four females.
After getting the conclusion of their genetic identification, Yang Xiaojun breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally there are parents!"
Finding the parent is only the first step.
Worrying that the green peacocks that have been in the wild for a long time will not adapt to the captive life, Jin Zhikun, the head of the rescue and breeding department of the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, led technicians to hang a grass curtain outside the pen to block the strong light, which not only simulated the forest environment, but also helped Green peacocks resist the cold winter and are fed regularly every morning and evening according to their wild life habits.
Under the careful care of the staff, the six green peacocks survived the winter and entered the mating period in March of the second year.
In May 2020, 4 female peacocks laid 26 eggs.
"Each egg is a treasure!" Jin Zhikun was pleasantly surprised. After discussing with Yang Xiaojun, he decided to use a combination of parent bird hatching, hen on behalf of hatching, and artificial hatching in an incubator in order to find the hatching method with the highest success rate.
However, a month later, only the parent bird hatching method successfully hatched a small peacock, and this single seedling died not long after birth.
Where is the problem?
To sum up the reasons, the three hatching methods have defects: the parent bird hatches, and the green peacock hatches one and no other eggs are hatched; the hen is hatched, and the hatching cycle of the peacock egg is generally 26 to 28 days, which is longer than that of egg hatching. It takes a few days for the chicks to grow, and the hens cannot hatch for a long time, so they stop hatching eggs; for artificial incubation, the existing equipment is not accurate enough to control the temperature and humidity.
"We really want to increase the number of green peacocks very fast. A female peacock lays an average of 3 eggs at a time. To induce labor, we pick up the eggs that have been laid, and the female peacock will continue to lay eggs. This way the female peacock The number of spawned eggs has increased significantly, but the quality of spawned eggs has declined." Yang Xiaojun said.
In January 2021, Yunnan Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center specially purchased new incubation equipment to improve the accuracy of artificial incubation temperature and humidity control; the method of adjusting the relevant feed ratio in advance was adopted to prolong the spawning time of green peacocks. Ensuring quality while increasing the number of spawned eggs.
The results this time did not disappoint. The artificial hatching method successfully hatched 6 pure-bred green peacocks, plus one parent bird hatching and one hen generation hatching, and finally there was a green peacock that was artificially bred by the offspring.
"For more than two years before and after, after trial and error, we found a way to artificially breed green peacocks. Compared with natural reproduction, this can greatly improve the reproductive success rate of green peacocks and increase the population." Yang Xiaojun said.
"In recent years, Yunnan Province has built a green peacock artificial breeding base by relying on the Provincial Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, and cooperated with relevant scientific research units to carry out research on artificial breeding of green peacocks. The artificial breeding population of purebred green peacocks identified by genomics has been initially established." Yang Xiaojun said, "During the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, we will continue to promote the artificial breeding of green peacocks, and on this basis, carry out wild reintroduction."
To make the distribution of the green peacock population "cluster into pieces", Yang Xiaojun set a new goal: "Some green peacocks are concentrated in an 'island' distribution, and long-term inbreeding can easily lead to population degradation. Next, we will explore the adjacent' Ecological corridors can be established between isolated islands, and artificial populations that have been released into the wild can also be introduced in suitable locations, so as to better realize the genetic exchange and reproduction of the populations.”
system protection
The rule of law escorts the establishment of joint habitat management and protection areas and protected communities, so that villagers can benefit from participating in the protection of green peacocks
On March 8 this year, at the Fifth Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress, the "Work Report of the Supreme People's Court" pointed out: "In the trial of the green peacock preventive protection public interest litigation case, the implementation of "protection first, prevention first" in principle."
On December 31, 2020, the Yunnan Provincial Higher People's Court made a final judgment in the second instance. Because the environmental impact assessment did not scientifically assess the impact on rare and endangered species such as the green peacock, the construction unit was sentenced to immediately stop the Yunnan Gansa River based on the existing environmental impact assessment. Construction of a first-class hydropower station.
"In order not to affect the survival and reproduction of the green peacock and other species, the hydropower station that has been built has been stopped, which reflects the principle of 'protection first and prevention first'." The relevant person in charge of the Yunnan Higher People's Court said, "The trial of this case It has broken through the traditional judicial concept of 'relief only when there is damage', and provided useful experience for the preventive protection of endangered species around the world."
The rule of law is escorted, and protection is given priority.
In order to protect the green peacock, Yunnan Province adheres to the concept of system, pays attention to overall planning, overall policy and multiple measures.
In recent years, under the guidance of the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau, many local wildlife management and protection agencies and public welfare organizations in Yunnan have established joint habitat management and protection areas and protected communities in towns where green peacocks are concentrated, and guided villagers to form patrol teams. Guard the green peacock.
"The protection of green peacocks cannot rely solely on the government and nature reserves. We should fully mobilize the participation of the population in the population distribution areas and surrounding villages, and explore a new protection model for green peacocks to coexist harmoniously with surrounding villagers." Han Lianxian, secretary-general of Yunnan Wildlife Conservation Association Say.
In the Green Peacock Conservation Community in Zhelong Township, Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County, local villagers have specially formed a patrol team, responsible for patrolling and monitoring, and replenishing food and water for the Green Peacock. Li Jiaxiu's son is also one of them.
"Some bird experts often come to the village to conduct training, and tell us why we need to protect them and how to protect the green peacock with the rangers." Li Jiaxiu said, "My son often tells me that this bird is rare. The villagers can't insist on going up the mountains to graze , dig wild vegetables to leave more space for green peacocks to multiply. I hope more green peacocks will come to my house in the future, and protecting green peacocks is also to support my son's work. "
In recent years, the number of green peacocks in Zhelong Township Green Peacock Conservation Area has increased year by year.
"The monitoring at the end of 2018 found that there were more than 40 green peacocks in our protection community, and the survey and monitoring data reached more than 60 at the end of last year." said Li Dehua, deputy head of the Green Peacock Management and Protection Station in Zhelong Township.
After working abroad for many years, in July 2018, Xu Jing, a villager from the Dalinggang Villager Group of Dashuitian Village, Dutian Township, Shuangbai County, returned to his hometown to start a business and opened the first homestay in the village.
The homestay is separated from the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve by a river, and the call of green peacocks can be heard from time to time in Dalinggang. Xu Jing named his homestay "Mingcuixuan".
Walking into "Mingcuixuan", the restaurant is equipped with local specialties, and several rooms are clean and tidy.
Looking out from the window, I can see the distant mountains like daisies, layers of green mountains, and sometimes birds passing by.
On the outer wall of the homestay, the beautiful portrait of the green peacock is integrated with the beautiful landscape.
It has developed into a scenic homestay integrating accommodation, catering and ecological tourism.
In Dutian Township, there are more than 10 such scenic homestays.
"Through the development of rural tourism and other methods, we can mobilize the enthusiasm of the villagers, which can help them benefit from participating in the protection of very small species such as green peacocks. At the same time, we will draw red lines, set rules, strengthen patrol monitoring, and prevent tourists from entering the green peacock. Peacock and other population habitats." Yon Lianxian said.
"As the habitat of green peacocks and other very small species species and the surrounding ecological environment protection continue to deepen, our village can see green mountains, hear birds and smell the fragrance of flowers. In recent years, many tourists have come here, and the income of the villagers has also increased. Follow the growth." Xu Jing said, "With the protection of green peacocks, the ecology here will get better and better, and there will be more and more green peacocks."
The hopes of the villagers are becoming a reality.
According to the monitoring at the end of 2021, the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve will add 33 little peacocks a year.
A surveillance video publicly released by the reserve has been swiped on the WeChat Moments of many locals. In the video, several adult green peacocks frequently open their screens and stretch their gorgeous tail feathers.
A few little peacocks followed suit, and the eagerness to try made people happy.
Layout Design: Wang Zheping