Jiyuan, Henan: Another Appearance of the Chinese Leopard

On March 9th, the Forestry Bureau of Jiyuan City's Pilot Area for Integrated Urban-Rural Development in Henan Province officially released the biodiversity monitoring results of Taihang Mountain National Nature Reserve: From November 2019 to February 2020, the Jiyuan Taihang Mountain National Nature Reserve captured precious image data of the national level key protected animal – the Chinese leopard, 42 times using infrared cameras, and monitored the Chinese leopard in multiple monitoring sample areas within the reserve.

Since January 2015, the Jiyuan Taihang Mountain National Nature Reserve has been conducting wildlife infrared camera monitoring, and the 'appearance rate' of the Chinese leopard has been steadily increasing. The monitoring shows a year-on-year increase in the number of Chinese leopards and a wider distribution range of the Chinese leopard in the Taihang Mountains of Jiyuan. The Jiyuan Taihang Mountain Chinese leopard has been identified with no less than 6 individuals through image data, including 'couple leopards' and 'mother and child leopards', indicating a reasonable population breeding structure. In addition, the infrared cameras also recorded other key protected animals such as the national level protected animal, the Siberian Lynx, the Yellow-throated Field Mouse, the Peregrine Falcon, the Red-bellied Parrot, the Spoonbill, and the Black-hooded Gull-hawk.

'The appearance of the Chinese leopard in multiple sample areas of Taihang Mountain represents a close connection between the Chinese leopard population in Jiyuan and the Chinese leopard population in other areas of the Taihang Mountains, and it is in a state of expansion, which is of great importance to the healthy and restoration of the Taihang Mountain Chinese leopard population.' According to a staff member of the Jiyuan Forestry Bureau, it also proves that with the continuous strengthening of ecological protection efforts and the implementation of the Henan South Taihang Mountain Ecological and Water-Soil-Stockpile Restoration Project, the ecological environment in the Jiyuan Taihang Mountains is developing stably and healthily.

The staff member told reporters that in the next step, Jiyuan will further strengthen wildlife management, completely prohibit the trading of wild animals, crack down on illegal hunting and capture of wild animals, strictly implement wild animal epidemic source and disease monitoring, strengthen wild patrol efforts, and strengthen habitat protection, allowing the Chinese leopard, a beautiful elf that only exists in China, to thrive and multiply healthily in Taihang Mountain.