The Tibetan Lolong golden leopard has been identified as an endangered species, the North China leopard, and is the largest known wild leopard population on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Source: CCTV

CCTV news: The golden leopard, alias leopard, once spread throughout the north and south of China, at the end of the last century, the golden leopard experienced a sharp decline in population and a sharp shrinking range. At present, most of the survey data on the golden leopard in China is recorded by scattered individuals in a few regions.

In 2014, infrared cameras deployed around the Nu River Gorge captured the Golden Leopard. In 2019, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration launched a study of the golden leopard in eastern Tibet, centered on Luolong County. After three years of field investigation, recently, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration for the first time revealed the preliminary monitoring results, the discovered golden leopard population is the largest and highest density known wild golden leopard population on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and has been identified as a subspecies of the North China leopard.

The clear image of the golden leopard in the picture comes from the territory of Luolong County in the city of Changdu, Tibet. Luolong, which means "Nangu" or "Nanchuan" in Tibetan, is a county town located in the alpine valley of the upper reaches of the Nu River, surrounded by mountains in all directions, and the rivers run through the valleys, and the mountains and rivers are extremely rich in biodiversity. Since ancient times, there has been a famous "Snow Leopard Canyon" here, where beautiful big cats live - snow leopards. Since 2013, local villagers have discovered another mysterious "big cat" in the snow leopard's habitat, the golden leopard.

Tang Zijun, engineer of the Central And South Investigation, Planning and Design Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration: In October 2013, when we were investigating in Luolong County, Changdu City, we heard local people report that they saw a golden leopard in the Nu river gorge, and then we analyzed that it may be a golden leopard. Then in April 2014, we put some infrared cameras around the Nu River Gorge, and in the cameras recycled in October we found that we had captured the golden leopard.

The frequency of the golden leopard being encountered and photographed locally is increasing. In view of this situation, since 2019, the Central and Southern Survey, Planning and Design Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration has opened a scientific research work in the eastern region of Tibet centered on Luolong County, focusing on the golden leopard and simultaneously investigating and monitoring its accompanying species. After three years of field investigation, individual identification, statistical analysis and other practical work, the preliminary monitoring results were revealed for the first time in recent days; in the published content, the bloodline identity of the "golden leopard" was also revealed, they were once all over the Taihang Mountains, and now only a few hundred endangered species of North China leopards can be counted.

Guo Kejie, senior engineer of the Central South Survey, Planning and Design Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration: From 2019 to 2021, we have deployed more than 300 infrared cameras in an area of 1,200 square kilometers and an altitude of 3,000 to 5,000 meters, with a total of more than 200,000 photos and videos, of which more than 300 are photographed with golden leopards. Through individual pattern recognition technology, at least 30 wild golden leopards have been identified, and through survey data and comparative analysis at home and abroad, the golden leopard (North China leopard) in eastern Tibet can basically be determined to be (currently) the largest known wild golden leopard population on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The North China leopard, named after the Taihang Mountains that inhabit the North China Plain, from which area and how it landed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, coexisted with the snow leopard here, and also bred a large population with a thriving family, which needs further exploration and research. However, it is an indisputable fact that the upper nu river basin in eastern Tibet has become home to a dense distribution of big cats.

According to experts, the currently known data show that the density of big cats snow leopard and golden leopard is generally two to three per hundred square kilometers, so the density of four to five per hundred square kilometers like this is relatively high, and it needs to have a very good local ecosystem to provide rich food resources for snow leopards and golden leopards.

In China's literary classics, there is a saying of "tiger and leopard thunder", which means that the roar of the tiger and leopard is like thunder sensational and very shocking. In this monitoring, the researchers are very lucky to record the call of the golden leopard, let's listen to the legendary "leopard roar" together.

An infrared camera deployed in the forest recorded the sudden roar of a golden leopard while resting and staying.

Compared with the tiger, which is also the top predator and big cat in the forest, the roar of the golden leopard is slightly lower and shorter than the large and far-reaching and intimidating roar of the tiger in the "Tiger Howling Mountain Forest"; however, compared with the demonic "howl" of the snow leopard distributed in the same domain, the "roar" of the golden leopard shows the momentum of the beast.

In the process of wildlife monitoring in Luolong County, Changdu City, Tibet, in addition to the traditional infrared camera, another shooting technology, handheld thermal imaging equipment, has also been put into use for the first time. Let's take a look at what kind of new experience will be brought to us by using this new device?

The video in front of you is taken by a traditional infrared camera, showing a golden leopard intently nibbling on a yak in the night. Due to the limited angle of view of the infrared camera, only a less complete side of the golden leopard can be photographed.

Tang Zijun, engineer of the Central South Investigation, Planning and Design Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration: At that time, some people told us that just the night before, a yak was bitten to death by a golden leopard, so we set up an infrared camera on the spot, and at night we used a handheld infrared thermal imager to wait for it at close range, and we really waited.

The thermal imaging equipment successfully allowed researchers to capture clear moving images of golden leopards from a distance in the dark night.

The images taken by the thermal imaging equipment are not as clear as we thought, and only the silhouettes of different shades and colors are seen flickering and moving. According to the staff, the working principle of thermal imaging is to sense the surface temperature of the object by infrared and imaging, and the objects of different temperatures in the environment are displayed as aperture profiles of different colors. This feature helps researchers spot and photograph wildlife at night over several square kilometers without the need to turn on the flash and without disturbing wildlife.

Unlike the traditional infrared camera can only passively wait for wild animals to pass by to trigger the opening of the shooting mode, thermal imaging equipment can automatically sense the presence of wild animals in the alpine dense forest, regardless of whether there is light or obstacles can take thermal images, for the field investigation work obviously has the progress and advantages of passive into active.

At the same time, this scientific practice is also the first time in China that handheld thermal imaging equipment has been applied to field shooting. In the future, the technology will be mainly used to track and monitor the nocturnal activities of large predators such as golden leopards and snow leopards.

Zhang Tong, engineer of the Central and South Survey Planning and Design Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration: The handheld thermal imager has a wide shooting range, is easy to carry out, can carry out investigations in a large area, and its shooting distance is far, and it can shoot activity targets several kilometers away.