Linde and Airun are two artificially bred crested ibises that are 3 years old this year, and after a period of emotional cultivation, they are about to get married.
The crested ibis is a world-class endangered species that is even rarer than the giant panda, and in the 80s of the last century, when it was about to be declared extinct, seven crested ibises were found in Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, China.
In order to protect this rare species, China has established the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve here to patrol and protect wild crested ibises. At the same time, there are also some crested ibises here, like "Linde" and "Airun", which have been artificially bred and released to expand the crested ibis population. More than 40 years later, how are the crested ibises living here?
Luo Yuanyi is a field ranger from the Hanzhong Crested Ibis Conservation Bureau, and his first mission this time was to observe the crested ibises "Gugu" and "Xiaoxiao", which have lived in Yangxian County for five years.
The nests of "Gu Gu" and "Xiaoxiao" were built on a big tree in the yard of Ran Pingping, a local farmer. They came here five years ago to build a nest, and since then they have flown every year, and now "Gu Gu" and "Xiaoxiao" have become good neighbors with Ran Pingping's family.
Since "Gu Gu" and "Xiaoxiao" settled down, Luo Yuanyi has been observing them for five years.
Luo Yuanyi (Field Ranger of the Hanzhong Crested Ibis Conservation Bureau): "Once the crested ibis reaches adulthood, the entire range of activities is basically fixed, because the habit of the crested ibis is to follow the old nest of the previous one. In the wild, there may be a nest of crested ibises for more than ten years, which is the largest record. ”
With neighbors and friends, "Gu Gu" and "Xiaoxiao" live very safely here. Recently, they laid three eggs in anticipation of the arrival of a new family member.
At the same time, newlyweds Linde and Airun are also preparing for breeding.
Difficult road to incubation
The Crested Ibis Ecological Park, where Linde and Airun are located, is part of the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve, where 203 captive-bred crested ibises are responsible for breeding and rewilding them.
The crested ibis has a lifespan of about 20 years, and can be bred after the age of two. In April, the breeding season for the crested ibis, Linde and Airun began to prepare for their first nest of eggs.
At this time, the newlyweds' love encountered a challenge. Another male bird came to show his love to "Ai Run" with a branch, but fortunately, the crested ibis is very loyal to love, even if one party dies, the other party will not accept a new mate, so "Ai Run" did not pay attention to the third party, and "Linde" also rushed over to expel the third party, and defended his small family with brave practical actions.
A few days later, Airun laid 4 eggs. The young couple who became parents for the first time opened the "road of incubating babies with 0 experience".
Linde and Erun abandoned their nests
But soon there was a problem, the little couple who had no breeding experience could not sit still at all, and the long abandonment of the nest led to the death of one of the eggs. If no human intervention is done at this time, all eggs may die.
Liu Yi, the person in charge of artificial breeding in the crested ibis ecosystem in Yangxian County, immediately took out the remaining three eggs and numbered them, and then put them into the incubator, hoping to help them hatch in an artificial way.
After 25 days of hatching, the crested ibis eggs are about to break their shells. At this stage, the eggs need to be taken out of the incubator every two hours and placed at room temperature to cool down, which is also a good time to observe the eggs.
The eggs of a crested ibis about to break
Liu Yi (person in charge of artificial breeding in the Yangxian crested ibis ecosystem): "When these eggs are taken out and placed on the smooth table, you can see that they have been shaking, and it is estimated that the little crested ibis is already pecking inside." ”
Just when everyone was looking forward to the birth of the baby crested ibis, an accident happened. On a thunderstorm night, Liu Yi noticed that the crested ibis eggs, which had been able to roll during the day, were abnormal, and it stayed quietly on the table, motionless.
Liu Yi: "It didn't move on the smooth tabletop, it died." It's very uncomfortable, in our annual hatching, there are very few people who die before they are about to come out of the shell, and this seems to be the first case in the past six years. ”
The hatching of the crested ibis, whether in the wild or in the artificial, is subject to great uncertainty. The difficulty of hatching and surviving is one of the reasons why the crested ibis population is on the verge of extinction.
The success rate of artificially breeding crested ibis eggs is higher than that of wild ones, but the crested ibis eggs that died in infancy still make everyone worry about whether the remaining eggs can hatch smoothly.
Liu Yi listens to the signal of the crested ibis's eggs
In the anxious waiting, another egg laid by "Airun" finally sent a strong peck signal. Fortunately, the peck went smoothly this time, and after 38 hours of hard work, the little crested ibis finally broke out of its shell.
This is the first crested ibis to be bred in Shaanxi Province in 2024, and its name has changed from a string of numbers to a meaningful "Qin Qin".
The growth journey of "Qin Qin".
Because it was born in an incubator, "Qin Qin" had no way to recognize his parents, and all childcare needed to be done manually. If you want to survive, "Qin Qin" must first pass the level of eating.
Liu Yi replaces the crested ibis's mother with a carefully configured baby meal. It not only imitates the porridge-like food formed by ruminating in the wild, but also has more comprehensive and rich nutrition.
In the wild, the food eaten by young birds is with the mother's body temperature, so before each feeding, Liu Yi will heat the refrigerated baby meal to his own body temperature before feeding it to "Qin Qin".
Under Liu Yi's careful care, the little "Qin Qin" with a strong appetite quickly adapted to the artificial meal. Soon after the birth of "Qin Qin", its brother also successfully broke the shell. Among this batch of newborn young birds, "Qin Qin" is the most edible and the most robbed.
"Qin Qin", which can be eaten and grabbed, grows up day by day, and in order to let it get in touch with nature, Liu Yi arranges a sunbathing for "Qin Qin".
The first sunbathing of "Qin Qin".
This was the first time that "Qin Qin" came outside to bask in the sun, but it was obviously not very adaptable, and it had cold symptoms in the afternoon. The resistance of the chicks is weak, and once the treatment is not timely after illness, it can easily lead to death......
Not long ago, Luo Yuanyi spotted a newly settled crested ibis couple in the wild and named their home Nest No. 2. Recently, a crested ibis nested in its nest, could this be a sign of hatching? Ranger Luo Yuanyi went to check again......
The No. 2 nest discovered by Luo Yuanyi
What is the situation with nest 2, and will there be little life born? Can the eggs of Gu Gu and Xiao Xiao hatch successfully? Did Qin Qin's cold symptoms improve? What is its current state?
Producer: Tang Damai
Choreographer: Wang Dingyao
Editor: Yu Erya Zhang Xining