Today
Let's take two minutes
Let's learn about the work of gibbon shovelers
In January 2017, the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, the Forestry Department of Yunnan Province and other units announced the discovery of a new species of gibbon in Gaoligong Mountain, Yunnan Province, and named it Tianxing Gibbon.
Then
Li Ruxue hadn't thought about it yet
He would be with Skywalker Gibbon
Such a close connection occurs
I didn't even think I would continue to do it
Conservation of the Skywalk gibbon in the wild
Skywalking gibbon is a typical arboreal primate (courtesy of the interviewee)
Tianxing gibbons are national key protected wild animals, they forage, sleep, rest in the trees, rarely go to the ground. In China, which is only distributed in parts of Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture and Baoshan City in Yunnan Province, the number of animals in the country is less than 150, and it has been identified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Female celestial gibbon holding a baby ape in her arms (courtesy of the interviewee)
Skywalker Gibbon
Pursue strict monogamy
And the breeding interval is long
The reproduction rate is low
In March 2017, Li Ruxue saw the recruitment information of the Yunshan Biodiversity Conservation and Research Center (hereinafter referred to as the "Yunshan Center") in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and by chance, Li Ruxue, who had not yet graduated from Dali University majoring in biological sciences, participated in the first large-scale survey of the population of Tianxing gibbon as an intern.
In the past three months, Li Ruxue has traveled almost all the distribution areas of Tianxing gibbons to determine the number of wild populations. This experience gave Li Ruxue an overall idea of the distribution of Tianxing gibbons in China.
After graduation
Li Ruxue officially entered the Yunshan Center
It has been stationed in Zhina Township and Sudian Township in Yingjiang County
Skywalker gibbon habitat
Engaged in fieldwork
Field monitoring has become Li Ruxue's daily work status (courtesy of the interviewee)
On the "Yunshan Protection" WeChat public account
Li Ruxue's label is:
Cloud Mountain protects the wild
Chief Assistant to the Fecal Retriever
Gibbon exclusive shoveler
In recent years, a new profession has emerged in the field of wildlife conservation and research – wildlife shovelers.
End of 2017
Li Ruxue became one of them
Work began on the collection of ape dung
"Gibbon Exclusive Shoveler"
It seems like a somewhat playful label
In Li Ruxue's view, it was
"The World's Worst Shoveler"
There is a saying in the locals
"Rats don't look up, apes don't land"
Follow gibbons
Pick up feces
Far from being as simple as imagined
"If you want fresh excrement, you really have to rely on fate." Li Ruxue said helplessly.
The difficulties in collecting ape dung lie in the inaccessibility of Tianxing gibbons, the difficulty of preserving feces, and the problem of funding. In the primary forest, it is equally difficult to distinguish the feces of the Celestial Gibbon from the feces of various animals, and the fecal samples that are finally mailed to the laboratory may also be mixed with the feces of some other animals, which increases the difficulty and workload of extracting the DNA of the Celestial Gibbons.
Li Ruxue and his fecal searching dog (courtesy of the interviewee)
The greatest danger of fieldwork is
Uncertainty of the natural environment
Rolling stones on hillsides, unpredictable thunder and lightning weather, etc
It will also cause certain harm to personal safety
In order to be able to find the feces of the Celestial Gibbon as much as possible in the wild
Li Ruxue also used fecal dogs to assist in the search for ape dung
For wildlife conservation, only by understanding the objects of protection can we formulate a more scientific and reasonable protection plan. Although it is not difficult to collect ape dung, it is "easier" to obtain feces than other research materials such as blood and hair, which is the main reason why Li Ruxue insists on being a "shoveler".
Samples of Tianxing gibbon's feces after treatment will be mailed to Professor Fan Pengfei of Sun Yat-sen University for further research. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
"For The Celestial Gibbonian, which has a population of less than 150 and whose habitat is severely fragmented, we need to know more about their genetic diversity." By collecting feces, extracting the DNA of the Celestial Gibbon, understanding the relationship between different populations, seeing whether there is inbreeding, and thus assessing the need to establish ecological corridors between which groups, providing scientific support for conservation programs from a longer-term perspective.
In addition to being a "shoveler", Li Ruxue is also responsible for the dynamic monitoring of the population of Tianxing gibbon, the survey of the habitat of Tianxing gibbon, and the surrounding community work. "In the past few years of work, the biggest change is that the local people know more about the Tianxing gibbon, and only if more people pay attention to it, more people will protect it."
Have you ever thought of fleeing?
Li Ruxue did not deny it.
The local villagers did not understand when they first worked
As well as reasons such as hard work in the field
All of them made Li Ruxue have the idea of retreating
But Li Ruxue still persevered
"I've been protecting Skywalker Gibbon for four years, and I think I'm doing something useful."
In the process of protecting Tianxing Gibbon, he found that the distance between people and wild animals was getting closer, and the addition of more and more environmental protection supporters made the job more and more meaningful, and also made his heart more full.
According to the different needs of each village, Li Ruxue tried to carry out community work in different ways (courtesy of the interviewee)
In Li Ruxue's view-
The protection of the Celestial Gibbon should be based on the protection of habitat. Due to the fragmentation of the habitat, the existing Population of Celestial Gibbon is divided into five large areas and more than a dozen small groups. Without salvage protection measures, they will face the threat of becoming smaller groups or even extinct. At the same time, habitat fragmentation can make it difficult for Skywalker gibbons to start a family and risk of marriage between close relatives.
In order to better protect the Tianxing gibbon, in recent years, Dehong Prefecture has organized the implementation of the "Tianxing Gibbon Extremely Small Population Wild Animal and Plant Resources Rescue" project, grasping the number and distribution range of the Tianxing Gibbon population, and carrying out ape sound monitoring, food source survey, habitat monitoring and other work.
Right now
The habitat of the Celestial Gibbon is slowly recovering
Habitat fragmentation is gradually improving
The number of newborn baby apes is also growing slowly
According to observations -
○ Since 2018, every year an Astrobeon has been born.
Li Ruxue observed and found——
○ Since 2018, there have been at least 3 newborn baby apes in the Yingjiang County habitat alone, and another 3 solitary apes have formed new families.
Digital information collection is an important means for Li Ruxue to carry out field monitoring (Photo by Wang Hongxia, a reporter of the Central Broadcasting Network)
Actually—
In the "folk power" of wildlife conservation
Young people like Li Ruxue are not in the minority
Only among the 7 staff members of Yunshan Center
There are 5 "post-90s"
1
Born in 1998, Qi Jiaru is a member of the Yunshan Center. Because she loves wild animals, Qi Jiaru entered the Yunshan Center after graduating from Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology College majoring in wildlife and nature reserve management. As the youngest female worker in the Yunshan Center, Qi Jiaru did not feel that field observation and investigation was a very hard job.
2
The 29-year-old Bi Xing, a villager in Xiangbai Village in Yingjiang County, goes into the mountains every month to observe the living conditions of Tianxing gibbons and monitor changes in the habitat environment of Tianxing gibbons.
Qi Jiaru (left) and Li Ruxue (center) conduct field monitoring in Xiangbai Village, China NationalIties (Photo by Wang Hongxia, a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Network)
Because I like and love
In order to endure loneliness and to withstand boredom
Don't be afraid of the dangers of the wild
This is the original intention and motivation of young people to protect wild animals
The addition of these young forces and diverse talents
It is bound to be the conservation of biodiversity in China
Breathe new life
Cloud report client synthesis
Source: CCTV, Yunnan Release, etc
Part of the source: Dehong Prefecture Party Committee Propaganda Department
Source: Yunnan Daily