The North China Leopard is returning!
In recent years, the North China leopard frequently appeared in many places in China, among which at the end of September this year, the infrared camera of Huoshan Provincial Nature Reserve in Shanxi Province captured the figure of 4 North China leopards, from the size point of view, these 4 North China leopards are very healthy, a look at it to know that the food is still good.
At the end of 2020, the North China leopard appeared in Zhai Jiagou Village, Daohugou Township, Pingquan City, Hebei Province, and here is only about 100 kilometers away from Beijing, Beijing is the traditional habitat of the North China leopard, in the 70s of the last century there were still North China leopards, but now around Beijing has not been around for decades Without the figure of north China leopards, this leopard appeared in Hebei Zhai Jiagou Village, indicating that leopards are gradually "recovering lost ground".
We know that leopards are large beasts of prey, and their diet is also larger herbivores, including wild boars. Nowadays, wild boars in many parts of China are flooded locally, can the beast North China Leopard control the number of local wild boars?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > leopards and wild boars</h1>
The North China leopard is actually a subspecies of the golden leopard, but it is the only species in the golden leopard subspecies that lives in China, so it is also called the "Chinese leopard".
Historically, leopards have suffered mass slaughter for injuring people and domestic animals, etc.; coupled with the fact that their habitat has gradually shattered and disappeared, they have been on the verge of extinction like tigers. Fortunately, leopards have a wide range of habitats, and some inaccessible wilderness areas have become their shelters, and when the environment recovers and people's attitudes towards the beasts gradually change, leopards spread from the shelter to the surrounding areas.
The spread of leopards is inseparable from the help of humans. In the past, leopard habitats were cut into small fragments by villages, farmland, roads, etc., resulting in reduced genetic exchange among leopards in different regions, so that the coefficient of inbreeding increased. To help leopards reproduce better, they have connected leopards from different regions by restoring ecological corridors.
Ecological corridors can also better help leopards spread, which also makes leopards appear in many parts of the country.
Leopards belong to large carnivores, their food includes: roe deer, wild boar, deer and other ungulates, and wild boar due to its very strong reproductive ability, coupled with the ability to adapt to the environment is very strong, so that after the restoration of China's environment, the number of wild boars took the lead in recovery, and because they belong to the three protected animals, people can not easily hunt, resulting in local flooding of wild boars in our country.
Localized wild boars can destroy farmland, attack humans, and bring greater economic losses and personal threats to people in many places. The main reason for the flood of wild boars is that the number of local carnivores is too small.
The increase in the number of wild boars is actually more conducive to the survival of leopards, because wild boars are very popular food for leopards in North China.
Leopards hunt in two main ways, one is to tail quietly, they will follow the sows and cubs, and when they encounter the opportunity, they will prey on the piglets that are single in the wild boar colony. Of course, leopards are not as effective as tigers in their overall combat and cannot hunt adult boars, so they do not easily hunt adult boars, but fortunately, there are enough sows and piglets in the forest, and they do not have to risk hunting adult boars.
Another way is to hide in places where animals are frequent, such as wild animals need to drink water regularly, so leopards will hide near the water source, waiting for the prey to come to drink water, and then wait for the opportunity to move.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > can a leopard control a local wild boar? </h1>
Although leopard populations have recovered, it is still difficult to control the local flood of wild boar.
On the one hand, because the overall number of leopards is not large, the number of leopards in North China may be less than 1500 today, so it is listed as a national first-class protected animal.
Secondly, the reproduction rate of leopards is very slow, with only 1-3 baby leopards per litter, and because male leopards do not participate in the task of raising offspring, the survival rate of small leopards is low. Leopards can live independently for an average of 18-24 months, and after they live independently, the female leopard will continue to be in heat, so compared to wild boars with amazing reproductive ability, leopards reproduce more slowly and take longer to return to their original population size.
Although leopard populations are too small to control local wild boar populations, wild boar populations are also suppressed as leopard populations recover. At this stage, the number of wild boars is relatively large, which is very beneficial to the survival of the North China leopard, and it is precisely because of this that although the wild boar is not in danger of extinction, we still list it as a "three protected animals".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="20" > summary</h1>
Although the north China leopard population has recovered, it is still not at risk of extinction, and we still need to continue to protect it. In response to the problem of local flooding of wild boars, destruction of farmland, and harm to humans, the measures taken in different places are not the same, some places have allowed hunting, but there are also some places that do not allow hunting, or only allow licensed hunters to hunt.
It is believed that with the continuous recovery of the leopard population in North China, the wild boar problem can also be gradually solved.
#North China Leopard ##豹子 #