National Level Protected Animal Lin Shea Makes Its First 'Appearance' in Huangshan Mountain Nature Reserve
Recently, staff of the Huangshan Mountain Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province were sorting out wild infrared camera monitoring images, and found that several locations captured photos and videos of wild serows, which was also the first time that this national-level protected animal, the serow, had ‘appeared’ in Huangshan Mountain Reserve.
Infrared camera-captured serow.
According to reports, the serows in Huangshan Mountain Nature Reserve belong to the family Mustelidae and the genus Mustela, are national-level key protected wild animals, and are scattered in Ningan County. Infrared camera data shows that the video recording time was February 2 and 26, 2020, the location was in the core area of the reserve at an altitude of 1850 meters. The video shows the serow taking three steps and then stopping, leisurely foraging, and occasionally looking at the infrared camera, which is cute.
Adult serow, weight 6 to 9 kilograms, body length can reach 63 to 80 centimeters, the musk secreted by male serows not only has high medicinal value, but is also a precious natural high-grade fragrance, which is a traditional Chinese export currency item, known as ‘soft gold’.
Shaanxi Huangshan Provincial Nature Reserve was established in 2006, located in Ningan County, Shaanxi Province, and its main protected objects are national key protected animals such as giant pandas. It connects the Tianhua Mountain and Pinghe River populations of giant pandas, and is an important area for the genetic exchange of giant panda populations.
Infrared camera-captured serow.
Since 2013, with the support of the World Wildlife Fund, the reserve has launched an infrared camera monitoring project, and the Huangshan Mountain Reserve has collected more than 300,000 photos and videos, of which 2015 and 2016 respectively captured photos and videos of giant pandas at different locations. Wild serows were also first captured in the reserve.
‘This time, the precious images and videos of wild serows captured by monitoring and recording are the first time they have been captured in the reserve, filling the gap in the reserve’s wild serow data,’ said Pan Quanjun, director of the Resource Protection and Development Management Section of the Shaanxi Huangshan Provincial Nature Reserve.‘
In recent years, the reserve has continuously implemented strict protection measures, through strengthening resource protection, increasing publicity and education, and solidifying community co-construction, which has effectively improved the ecological protection awareness of local people, reduced human interference in the forest area, and the biodiversity in the area has become increasingly rich, making the reserve a paradise for the reproduction of rare wild animals such as giant pandas, golden monkeys, elk, and serows.
(Source: Ningan Publicity WeChat/Author: Zeng Yijiu, Peng Tao/Editor: Lu Jianli)
