Striving for a new journey, making contributions to a new era, great changes, and making the Northeast Tiger Township ＂tiger and tiger thrive＂
Xinhua News Agency, Changchun, May 29th Title: Let the Northeast Tiger Township "tiger tiger thrive"
Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Meiqi and Gao Nan
It has just rained several times in Hunchun City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, and the rugged paths in the suburban forests are muddy. Zhao Yanshen, a 37-year-old, was patrolling the mountains, looking for a suitable location to set up a new infrared camera. This mountain forest is located in the jurisdiction of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, and now it is the season for female tigers to learn the survival skills in the wild with their cubs. Zhao Yan is particularly looking forward to monitoring the new "Tiger Baby".
This is the prospect of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, which was shot on October 1st, 2021. Xinhua news agency
Zhao Yan is the deputy director of the research and monitoring center of Hunchun Branch of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration. He has been walking in the mountains for more than ten years. Like Zhao Yan, there are more than 6,800 rangers in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, who are holding on to the habitat of this wild Northeast Tiger and Leopard day and night, witnessing the return of Tiger and Leopard.
Zhao Yan is rescuing injured wild animals (photo taken on January 12). Xinhua News Agency reporter Si Xiaoshuai photo
"Tigers and leopards have high requirements for the living environment, and the protection of tigers and leopards is an arduous task for the whole world. More than a decade ago, it was predicted that the wild Siberian tiger would be extinct in China. " Zhao Yan said, "Unexpectedly, the tiger really came back, and our efforts were not in vain."
In recent years, with the continuous promotion of a series of measures such as natural forest protection project and nature reserve system construction, China’s ecological environment has been significantly improved. The Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park started its pilot work in 2017 and was formally established in 2021, covering an area of 14,000 square kilometers across Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. According to the latest data, the number of wild Siberian tigers in Tiger and Leopard Park has increased to 50, and the population has shown an obvious trend of spreading to the inland of China.
This is a wild Siberian tiger photographed by a monitoring camera in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park. Xinhua news agency
In order to protect the tiger and leopard more efficiently, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has built an "integrated monitoring system of heaven, earth and air", with tens of thousands of intelligent infrared cameras distributed in the park at the end, which can not only complete the real-time transmission of high-definition images and videos through networking, but also achieve "tiger face recognition" and the collection and transmission of ecological factors such as soil and water quality.
Feng Limin looks at the intelligent infrared camera in the forest in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park (photo taken on July 21, 2020). Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun photo
Feng Limin, deputy director of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard Monitoring and Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau, said: "The infrastructure in the park has gradually improved. We can not only better study the living conditions of the tiger and leopard, but also protect the food chain and homes of the tiger and leopard."
The thrilling moment of a group spring outing of the Northeast Tiger, the "dating" love of the Northeast Leopard and the competition between the Northeast Tigers … … The intelligent monitoring system sends back wonderful pictures from time to time, which has attracted wide attention at home and abroad.
In addition to technological empowerment, Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has continuously strengthened cross-border cooperation and protection. In February and November of 2019, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration exchanged visits with the Russian Leopard National Park, and formally established a strategic partnership for cross-border protection of tigers and leopards. The two sides have carried out in-depth cooperation in cross-border activities of tigers and leopards, joint monitoring between China and Russia, and data sharing of scientific research.
Coexistence also requires symbiosis. Protecting habitat means that residents living here should give up the production and lifestyle of "relying on mountains to eat mountains" such as planting and grazing under forests. According to local conditions, Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park actively explores new modes of social transformation, personnel transfer and sustainable development.
In Hunchun City, the forestry department helps farmers develop beekeeping and provides farmers with bees and beehives. Wangqing county combines the contracting of Korean pine fruit forest with the protection of tigers and leopards, and the contractor is also responsible for the protection and patrol of tigers and leopards in this area.
Li Dongwei (first from left) and members of the patrol team patrol in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park (photo taken on July 22, 2021). Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Linyun photo
"Now the villagers are not worried. If cultivated land and crops are damaged by animals, there will be state compensation." Li Dongwei, captain of the patrol team of Hunchun Forestry Bureau, said. It is understood that the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has also introduced a comprehensive commercial insurance mechanism for compensation for injuries caused by wild animals.
When not going up the mountain, Zhao Yan likes to watch monitoring videos of wild Siberian tigers and learn more about ecological protection. "Although I have never met the tiger and leopard head-on, I am proud to be able to protect beautiful homeland, the Northeast Tiger and the Northeast Leopard, and I will always stick to it." Zhao Yan said. (Participating in writing: Si Xiaoshuai, Yan Linyun)