Search for creatures in the northeast forest
——Documentary of ecological image of Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park
Author/Photo: Gu Baochen (Member of Jilin Photographers Association)
A chipmunk hiding under the umbrella of a fungus.
Sika deer foraging in the forest.
Two white-tailed sea eagles are vying for food.
A flock of red-crowned cranes taking off.
A Northeastern leopard descending the mountain.
Two wild Siberian tigers, one large and one small, walking on the snow.
Nature is our common home, and wild animals are man's eternal friends. As a former forester, I have been running around the mountain forests of Hunchun, Jilin All year round, and I am very fond of every grass and tree here. After retiring, as a wildlife photographer, I also hope to record more about the landscape and various wildlife here.
In October 2021, President Xi Jinping announced at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Leaders' Summit that China has officially established the first batch of national parks such as Sanjiangyuan, giant panda, Northeast tiger and leopard, Hainan Tropical Rainforest and Wuyishan Mountain. Among them, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park spans Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, with a protected area of 14,100 square kilometers, and distributes the largest and only wild Siberian tiger and Northeast leopard population with breeding families in the mainland.
The Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has diverse vegetation types and rich biodiversity, and is a typical representative of temperate forest ecosystems. The park is inhabited by a complete food chain composed of large to medium-sized mammals that are rare in China, including Siberian tigers, Northeast leopards, lynx, sables, etc., and herbivores include sika deer, Siberian roe deer, proto musk and so on. Among them, the Siberian tiger and the Siberian leopard are rare and endangered species under global key protection, the flagship species of China's biodiversity conservation, and the symbol of the health of temperate forest ecosystems, with high conservation value.
My forest area is part of the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park. Over the years, I have taken photographs while guarding the mountains and forests, and I have continued to record the wonderful moments of various wildlife. This process also made me more aware of and appreciated the precious resources that nature gives to human beings.
In February 2021, I had the privilege of taking a precious photo of a pair of wild Siberian tigers. Nowadays, under the good ecological environment of the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park, the emergence of wild Siberian tigers is not a new thing, but it is still exciting to catch two wild Siberian tigers at the same time. Siberian tigers are one of the world's endangered wild animals, and the establishment of Siberian tigers and leopards national parks protects their habitats and plays a very important role in maintaining ecological balance.
In my photographic lens, after years of shooting accumulation, a large number of wild animals have been recorded, including not only fierce animals such as Siberian tigers, Northeast leopards, wild boars, but also red-crowned cranes, white-tailed sea eagles, sika deer, sables, chipmunks and so on. Photographing wildlife is not an easy task, often climbing ice and lying in snow in winter, enduring the nuisance of mosquitoes in summer, and always keep alert and agile, paying attention to personal safety.
In my many years of photography, I have strived to tell visual stories about wild animals with my lens, to show more people the animal world I see, and to arouse the public's love for nature and the protection of wild animals. In the future, I am willing to continue to do my part for the cause of wildlife conservation, and interpret the true meaning of life through photography.
Guangming Daily (2022-04-17, 11th edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily