Great News for Wild Animals in Shennongjia Forest Region

By Zhai Xingbo, Zhang Shanshan & Xu Zhengguo Translation by Lu Qiongyao & Zhu Yaguang Photos by Xue Yang, Liu Xiang & Yu Ming

The First Alliance of Natural Reserves in Central China

June 9, 2018 was the second “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” in China, which was also a historic anniversary of wildlife protection in Central China. On this day,representatives from Shennongjia National Park, Duheyuan National Nature Reserve, 18-li(i.e. 9 km) Long Canyon National Nature Reserve, Badong Golden Monkey Nature Reserve, the Three Gorges Wanchaoshan Mountain Nature Reserve,Yintiaoling National Nature Reserve, and Wulipo National Nature Reserve gathered in Kande Grand Land Hotel in Muyu Town of Shennongjia and established the first alliance of nature reserves in Central China. The latter two reserves are from Chongqing City,and the other five are all from Hubei Province.

Shennongjia in Central China is the only well-preserved virgin forest ecosystem located in the middle latitudes of the Earth, and a sanctuary for rare and endangered wildlife. It was located at the mysterious latitude 31 degrees north where some other natural and human miracles are located, such as Mount Everest, the Egyptian Pyramids, the Bermuda Triangle,and Sanxingdui, all of which are full of unsolved mysteries.Shengnongjia is a paradise for golden monkeys, the home of giant pandas, and a habitat for various “albino” animals. Here reside many national first-level protected wild animals such as clouded leopards, leopards, dwarf musk deer, golden eagles, and oriental white storks, and secondlevel protected wild animals such as Mrs. Gould’s sunbird, golden pheasants, jackals, black bears,yellow-throated martens, serows,giant salamanders, Chinese luehdorfia, Carabus dovidi, and otters

Liu Qijun, director of the Administration Bureau of Shennongjia National Park,said that the aim of establishing such an alliance was to create a mechanism which was jointly shared by various protected areas in western Hubei Province and eastern Chongqing, so that a format of “joint protection” could be built while the consistency and integrity of regional ecosystems can be improved. These nature reserves share a high degree of similarity in the aspects of climatic conditions, ecological environment, biodiversity,species distribution, and cultural customs, therefore, an extra area of more than 100,000 square kilometers has now been added to the 3,000 square kilometers for wildlife activity in Shennongjia Forest Region thanks to the establishment of the Alliance.By then wild animals will be able to run as far and as fast as they please, while still enjoying the benefits of protection no matter which reserve zone they enter.As Hu Xinghuan of the Hubei Provincial Forestry Department said, this means the migration passage of golden monkeys in Shennongjia could reach as far as Yeren Valley in the North, Badong in the South, and Chongqing in the West. The Wildlife Alliance is undoubtedly great news for wildlife animals.

Su Yang, researcher from the Development Research Center of the State Council, and Zhu Chun, chief representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)in China, both commented that, different from those of some countries in the world,people and wildlife live together in harmony in the national parks and nature reserves in China. Facts have proved that when people in the reserve understand the importance of nature conservation, they will not threaten animals, instead, they can become good friends with wild animals.

华中第一个保护地联盟结成

2018年6月9日是我国第二个“文化和自然遗产日”，更是华中地区野生动物保护的一个历史性纪念日。神农架国家公园、重庆阴条岭国家级自然保护区、湖北堵河源国家级自然保护区、重庆五里坡国家级自然保护区、湖北十八里长峡国家级自然保护区、湖北巴东金丝猴自然保护区、湖北三峡万朝山自然保护区等7个成员单位在神农架的木鱼镇康帝君兰酒店，结成华中第一个自然保护地联盟。

中国中部地区的神农架，是地球中纬度地区唯一保存完好的原始森林生态系统和珍稀濒危动植物庇护所，与珠穆朗玛峰、埃及金字塔、百慕大三角、三星堆等自然人文奇迹同处在神秘的北纬31度，有众多未解之谜。 她是金丝猴的乐园、大熊猫的故地，是各种“白化”动物的栖息地，有云豹、金钱豹、林麝、金雕、东方白鹳等国家一级保护野生动物，还有蓝喉太阳鸟、红腹锦鸡、豺、黑熊、黄喉貂、鬣羚、大鲵、中华虎凤蝶、硕步甲和水獭等国家二级保护动物。

神农架国家公园管理局局长刘启俊说，建立自然保护地联盟，旨在创建鄂西渝东各类保护地协同共建的工作机制，努力构建“共抓大保护”格局，提高区域生态系统的连通性完整性和完整性。这一系列自然保护地在气候条件、生态环境、生物多样性、物种分布和文化风俗等方面均具有高度的相似性。这就是说，保护地联盟建立以后，野生动物的活动面积，从之前的3000多平方公里一下增加十几万平方公里，它们可以更加欢快地奔跑，无论跑到哪个保护区，都能得到共同的关爱和保护。正如湖北省林业厅胡兴焕说，神农架金丝猴迁徙廊道北上可到野人谷，南下可到巴东，西进可达重庆，自然保护地联盟对野生动物无疑是件大好事。

中国国务院发展研究中心研究员苏杨和世界自然保护联盟（IUCN）驻华首席代表朱春全都表示，中国国家公园与自然保护区与世界一些国家的国家公园不同。在中国的国家公园和自然保护区，人与野生动物和谐相处。事实证明，只要区内人员都明白自然保护的重要性，人就不会威胁动物，反而会成为野生动物更好的伙伴。

Habitat Corridor—A Wildlife Overpass

Due to the interference of human activities and the crossing of the 209 National Highway and other tourist highways, some species in the ecosystems were relatively isolated from others, which posed a threat to regional biodiversity protection and ecological security,and restricted wild animals’migration and activities.

In order to promote the interactions of species and connectivity of the ecosystem in the Shennongjia and Pan-Shennongjia regions in western Hubei and eastern Chongqing,Shennongjia National Park has initiated a wildlife passage program by building habitat passages in places where entry and exit of animals has been restricted so that wild animals could run freely. These passages blended into nature with the construction of naturally fallen trees, strangler vines, lichen,and other primitive forest elements. The result was a naturally integrated environment.Infrared monitoring equipment was installed near the passages to photograph and observe the adaptation of wild animals and promote wildlife protection and research. As a result, a special“road and passage network” was built to enable wild animals to come and go as they please.

On June 8, we saw an arched overpass near the Great Dragon Pool in Shennongjia National Park, which was actually a fallen century-old tree spanning over the trail in the woods. It was covered with wild flowers, grass,and moss, and properly trimmed by people. As a result, it became a dedicated animal overpass, on which dozens of golden monkeys were seen scurrying by.

According to Li Chunqing,deputy director of the Service Bureau of Shennongjia National Park, there were more than 20 overpasses like this in Shennongjia, including a multipurpose animal tree bridge, two overpasses for golden monkeys,and more than 20 simple passages along the highway and food supply points for birds in the Dajiu Lake wetlands.

生境廊道 Habitat Corridor

生境廊道——野生动物的天桥

由于人类活动干扰及209国道与旅游公路阻隔，部分物种生态系统处于相对隔离，对区域生物多样性保护与生态安全构成威胁，对野生动物的迁徙和活动形成限制。

为促进神农架，乃至鄂西、渝东等泛神农架区域生境板块间物种交流和生态系统功能连通，让野生动物畅跑在丛林中，神农架国家公园启动野生动物通道项目，在野生动物出入受影响的地方修建生境廊道。工人们把这些通道融入自然倒伏的树木、藤本绞杀植物、苔藓地衣等原始森林元素，与周围环境浑然一体，并在通道附近架设红外监控设备，实时拍摄、观测野生动物适应通道情况，促进野生动物保护与研究，形成野生动物专用“路桥网”，使野生动物畅通无阻。

6月8日，记者在神农架国家公园大龙潭附近看到一座拱形天桥，这是一棵倒了的百年古树，横跨林中山路，上面布满野花、青草、苔藓，经工人们完善，浑然成了一座动物专用的“过街天桥”，几十只金丝猴可以一瞬间从上面通过。

神农架国家公园管理局副局长李纯清介绍，像这样的野生动物通道，神农架共有20余处，包括1处综合动物树桥通道、2处金丝猴树桥通道、20余处公路沿线简易通道和大九湖湿地鸟类食物补给点。

From a Hunter to a Golden Monkey Breeder

Tian Sigen, now aged 61, has retired from his work and left the Great Dragon Pool Golden Monkey Conservation Base in Shennongjia where he worked for 8 years.

Yang Jingyuan, director of the Science Research Institute at Administrative Bureau of Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, was reluctant to see Mr.Tian off. From a hunting master to a golden monkey guardian, Tian has witnessed the vicissitude of the forest.

Tian became a hunter in his early 20s, and his hunting career lasted for 20 years. At that time,dwarf musk deer, wild goats,and wild boars could be seen everywhere in the mountains, and he never returned empty-handed when he went hunting. “I could hunt more than 30 musk deer every year, which sold at 50 yuan each, while the price of an egg was only 0.02 yuan.” Said Tian. It was the high income that attracted more and more people to become hunters.

With the sound of gunshots becoming more frequent and intense, animals living in the mountain were dwindling away.

After the launch of the Natural Forest Protection Program, Tian handed in his shotgun, burnt the animal heads hanging all over his door frame, and quit hunting.

However, he had only 3mu(equal to 0.2 hectare) of land, and,by planting corn and potatoes, he could barely support his family.In order to make up the gap of his income, Tian had to take many part-time jobs.

Later, Tian joined the Great Dragon Pool Golden Monkey C o n s e r v a t i o n B a s e, a n d shouldered the responsibility of feeding golden monkeys. “Feeding them is just like looking after your own children. Punctuality is very important for the three meals every day.” After accompanying the golden monkeys for years, Tian now regards them as his family. At his last day of work, Tian stayed at the conversation base for a long while, feeling upset. “I just want to take a few more looks at them,”Tian bemoaned.

田思根与金丝猴结下不解之缘Tian Sigen and his golden monkey friends

猎人变身猴伴

61岁的田思根退休了，离开工作了8年的神农架大龙潭金丝猴保护基地。

目送老田离开，神农架国家公园管理局科学研究院院长杨敬元很不舍：从捕猎能手到金丝猴守护者，老田见证了林区的沧桑巨变。

田思根20岁出头就端起猎枪，做了20年猎人。彼时，大山里林麝、野羊、野猪四处可见。每次进山，他总不会空手而归。“一年可以打30多个林麝，一个麝香卖50元，而当时一个鸡蛋才2分钱。”田思根说，高收入吸引人们纷纷加入打猎行列。

山间回响的枪声越来越密集，山里的动物越来越少。

国家天保工程启动后，田思根交出了猎枪，烧掉了挂满门框的兽头，不再上山打猎。

可家中只有3亩地，种点玉米、洋芋只能糊口，为填补收入缺口，田思根只得四处打零工补贴家用。

后来，田思根加入大龙潭金丝猴保护基地，担负起喂养金丝猴的重任。“喂养金丝猴，就像养自己的孩子一样。每日三餐必须定时。”几年朝夕陪伴，金丝猴已如家人。离别之日，田思根在基地久久不愿离去。“我还想多看几眼金丝猴。”田思根颇为不舍。

猴宝宝在林间愉快玩耍 A baby monkey playing in the forest

Six Newborns in the Golden Monkey Family

At the end of last month,several golden monkey mothers holding their newborn babies were seen playing in the wild forests by the research base in the Great Dragon Pool of Shennongjia National Park.According to the staff, the golden monkey is currently in their peak breeding season. Six baby monkeys had been born in the first half of the year.

The golden monkey usually breeds from the beginning of March to the end of May each year. Female monkeys usually conceived between August and October in the previous year, with a pregnancy of nearly 200 days.Mother monkeys usually gave birth once every two years, with one baby per pregnancy. It takes mother monkey one year to feed the baby monkey.

Ever since the Great Dragon Pool Golden Monkey Research Base started feeding the monkeys in the winter of 2005, a group of monkeys have lived here. Every year a certain number of baby golden monkeys are born, with a survival rate of 100%. Compared to the number of golden monkeys in the 1980s when it was at its lowest, the number now in Shennongjia has more than doubled, exceeding 1,300.

金丝猴家族喜添六仔

从上月下旬开始，几只金丝猴妈妈抱着刚出生的宝宝在神农架国家公园大龙潭金丝猴野外研究基地山林中嬉戏。工作人员介绍，目前正值金丝猴产仔高峰期，上半年已有6只小猴出生。

金丝猴每年3月初至5月末产仔，母猴一般在头年的8月至10月受孕，孕期近200天。每只母猴通常两年产仔一次，一次一胎，母猴要用一年时间来哺育小金丝猴。大龙潭金丝猴研究基地自2005年冬季对金丝猴人工投食以来，吸引了一个固定种群，每年都会出生一定数量的小金丝猴，成活率达100%。目前，神农架金丝猴数量比20世纪80年代最少时增加一倍多，已经达到1300多只。

金丝猴一家子 A golden monkey family