Opening words
The black-necked crane is a national first-class protected animal and a wild animal endemic to the western part of the continent. The black-necked crane migrates to its breeding grounds in mid-to-late March and south to its wintering grounds in mid-to-late October, traveling between Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and other places, making it the only crane in the world that grows and breeds on the plateau. As the "weather vane" of the wetlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the black-necked crane plays a very important role in biodiversity conservation.
In order to show the conservation results of biodiversity in various places and let more people pay attention to the rare species of black-necked cranes, Xihai Metropolis Daily, Cover News (West China Metropolis Daily), Spring City Evening News (Opening News), and Lanzhou Morning News (Benliu News) jointly launched a special report on "Black-necked Crane Journey - Ecological Beauty Road" to jointly start a migration journey following the plateau elf black-necked crane.
For more than 30 years, in order to protect the black-necked cranes that overwinter in their hometown, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have successively become crane guards, carefully feeding, carefully observing and enthusiastically rescuing the cranes rain or shine... The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have experienced hardships and dangers, but they have never complained and regretted, regard the black-necked crane as eyes and family, and the feelings of loving cranes and protecting cranes are pure, deep and lasting, with the simplicity, kindness and perseverance of mountain people, painting a beautiful picture of people and cranes deep love and cranes dancing together.
The pair of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law full of positive energy are Dong Yinglan and Chen Guanghui from the Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve in Zhaotong Dashanbao, Yunnan Province, and Chen Guanghui's husband Zhao Bingxiang who participated in the crane protection.
A chance encounter
A peasant woman hated to meet the "goose" late
Dong Yinglan, 71, is a farmer woman living in Chelu Village, Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City, not far from her doorstep is the Daizi Wetland, which has become the main wintering place for black-necked cranes in the Dashanbao Reserve.
One winter in the 80s, a group of birds that the locals had never seen before suddenly flew in the Daizi wetland and nearby wetlands: huge, swan-shaped, dark red head, gray neck and tail, gray belly, and high-pitched and loud calls. The locals were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of this group of "uninvited guests", calling the birds, which were later confirmed to be black-necked cranes, "geese geese".
At that time, people went to the Daizi wetland to dig for haiyuan (a swamp humus sediment) for fuel, unconsciously destroying the wetland ecology. At the same time, the local area is located in a cold mountainous area, the climate is harsh, the land is barren, and the villagers can only grow widely and harvest poorly. The artichokes and buckwheat that were planted so hard were "invaded" by black-necked cranes from time to time, and suffered heavy losses.
In the increasingly serious conflict between people and cranes for food, this group of "geese and geese" has become unwelcome "outsiders", and some villagers even use various methods to drive them away, frighten, and chase them.
However, in the eyes of the kind Dong Yinglan, this group of "geese and geese" looks very cute and is a spiritual being, so she has been treating this group of "elves" in her own way: in addition to letting the artichokes, oats and buckwheat grown by herself let them eat, she also often artificially feeds them on ice and snow days that have difficulty foraging.
In 1990, the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane Municipal Nature Reserve was established, and the "goose" became famous, and the relevant publicity and protection efforts were rapidly strengthened. This strengthened Dong Yinglan's idea of protecting them with all her might, and her feelings for protecting the cranes increased day by day, and she was obliged to be the guardian of the black-necked cranes.
Since 1992, Dong Yinglan has officially become a crane protector in the Dashanbao Reserve, and the personal acts of loving cranes have become more professional daily work. From October to April every year, whether it is windy, rainy or icy or snowy, Dong Yinglan will always carry corn, artichokes and other "rations" to the Daizi wetland to artificially feed black-necked cranes.
A promise
The daughter-in-law resolutely took over the baton of her mother-in-law's voluntary crane protection
During the Spring Festival in 2003, Dong Yulan, who had been a crane guard for more than 10 years, was unwell and had pain in her eyes and legs, but she was still concerned about the food and safety of the black-necked crane. This made Chen Guanghui, the daughter-in-law who also loves cranes, see it in her eyes and hurt in her heart, so she and her husband Zhao Bingxiang took time to help her mother-in-law feed the cranes.
In the winter of the same year, the black-necked crane flew again from the breeding ground of Ruoergai in Sichuan Province to Dashanbao to overwinter and roost, which made Dong Yinglan, who was already unable to cope due to physical reasons, worried and sighed all day. In a hurry, she started her daughter-in-law Chen Guanghui's "idea": "Xiaohui, I'm not in good health now, these 'geese' can't go hungry... How about you come and be a crane guard for me and help me feed the cranes, can you?" ”
To Dong Yinglan's surprise, as soon as her voice fell, daughter-in-law Chen Guanghui agreed: "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely feed the crane well!" ”
In this way, under the guidance of Dong Yinglan, Chen Guanghui began the work of "supernumerary" crane guards. When she is in better health, Dong Yinglan will also feed the cranes in front of her house with her daughter-in-law, and increase the "rations" for black-necked cranes that have difficulty finding food in heavy snow and fog.
In 2004, as a crane protector, her mother-in-law Dong Yinglan "retired" gloriously, and her daughter-in-law Chen Guanghui officially took over the baton and became a crane protector of Daizi Wetland, and has been "dealing" with black-necked cranes until now.
Locals often see that during the wintering period of black-necked cranes for about 200 days, the petite Chen Guanghui will always carry dozens of kilograms of corn or artichokes on his back to the Daizi overnight place to feed the black-necked cranes, and at the same time do a good job in observing and counting the number of black-necked cranes, rescuing injured black-necked cranes and persuading illegal passengers to return, which has attracted the attention and attention of media at all levels countless times.
Because of working and living all year round in the Dashanbao Reserve at an altitude of more than 3,100 meters and strong ultraviolet rays, Chen Guanghui's face has turned red in black and black in red, and a typical "plateau red" has appeared.
A whistle
She "danced" with the originally timid black-necked crane
"It was only in 2003 that I really started working with black-necked cranes regularly. At that time, they were timid and afraid of me as a stranger, and when they saw me, they ran far away, and only after I left did they run over to eat the potatoes or corn scattered on the ground. On April 19, in an interview with a reporter from the Spring City Evening News-Kaiping News, Chen Guanghui said that in order to get closer to the black-necked crane and see whether the black-necked crane was injured, she had tried singing mountain songs and simulating bird calls, but she could not dispel the black-necked crane's guard.
Chen Guanghui was not discouraged, and through years of careful observation, repeated exploration and careful summary, he finally found a way to "communicate" and "dialogue" with the black-necked crane - whistling.
"Get up early in the morning and take Bud Valley to the beach. Every morning when the black-necked crane wintered in the Dashanbao Reserve, Chen Guanghui would always carry a full basket of corn on his back, humming mountain songs while trekking to the Daizi overnight camp. When she reached the wetland, she lowered her back fence and whistled as she threw corn on the ground. After hearing Chen Guanghui's whistle, the black-necked crane will quickly surround her, enjoy the food, and after eating, compete to fly around Chen Guanghui, and people and cranes dance together.
"My whistle sounds a lot like the call of a little black-necked crane. After a long time, the black-necked crane is not afraid of me. The 38-year-old Chen Guanghui is a "black-necked crane expert", who can roughly judge the age, health and mood of the black-necked crane through its size, call, dance steps and flight altitude. Relying on this unimaginable "special function", many media praised her in reports as "a crane guard who knows bird language and can 'talk' with black-necked cranes".
What is less well known is that a few days after the Spring Festival in 1998, when the Daizi wetlands were frozen and snowy, Chen Guanghui went to feed the black-necked crane in an accident: she stepped on the ice on the lake, fell into a swamp full of silt, and her body gradually sank. When she was in desperate danger, she desperately flattened her body, then grabbed the weeds and shrubs next to the swamp and slowly moved closer to the shore...
With great effort, Chen Guanghui finally escaped. After landing ashore, she did not care to go home to change her wet clothes and pants, but continued to feed the black-necked cranes that smelled incense, "You can't let them go hungry!" ”
Relying on the silent adherence and selfless protection of black-necked cranes for so many years, Chen Guanghui, as a "senior" volunteer crane guard, and her husband Zhao Bingxiang both joined the Zhaotong Black-necked Crane Protection Volunteer Association, and were hired by the association as crane guards, and received symbolic labor remuneration during the wintering habitat of black-necked cranes.
For more than 30 years, Chen Guanghui's family has been dealing with black-necked cranes for two generations, which has formed a deep love for cranes and a strong feeling for protecting cranes. They fell in love with the beauty and tenacity of the black-necked crane, fell in love with the black-necked crane, and fell in love with the black-necked crane in the full sense of gain and happiness.
"For so many years, black-necked cranes have been like my own children, and I will always think about them." Chen Guanghui said that as long as she and her husband can walk, they will continue to be crane guards to protect black-necked cranes, "If we can't walk, let our son be a crane guard, pass it on from generation to generation, forever protect this group of birds from afar, and create a safe and warm home for them." ”
A "thank you"
Give these lovely and respectable crane guards to Zhaotong
The reporter learned that Dong Yinglan's family guarded the black-necked crane for two generations, which is only a microcosm of the crane guards in Zhaotong.
Although the working conditions of crane guards are difficult, the work tasks are trivial and heavy, and the income of crane guards is extremely small, the crane guards use their full love, sufficient "rations" and strong feelings to protect the life safety of this group of "bird pandas" and "the prosperity of cranes" day and night, and become watchmen in the construction of ecological civilization on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
It is precisely by relying on the selfless dedication and meticulous protection of Chen Guanghui and many other crane guards, relying on the management and protection bureau of Zhaotong Dashanbao black-necked crane National Nature Reserve and the Zhaotong Black-necked Crane Conservation Volunteer Association to comprehensively publicize and fully protect black-necked cranes and their wintering grounds, so that the ecological environment of the black-necked crane habitat, which is an endangered species in the world and a national first-class key protected wild animal, has been continuously improved, and the number of black-necked cranes has doubled. From more than 200 at the beginning of the establishment of the Dashanbao Reserve in 1990, the number of black-necked cranes peaked at 2,260 in November 2022, presenting a beautiful scene of crane dancing plateau, crane chirping in the distance, and people and cranes dancing together.
The continuous growth of the black-necked crane family is inseparable from the silent dedication of each crane guard. Here, please remember this group of cute crane guards who have made great contributions and continue to fight:
Chen Guanghui, crane ranger of Daizi Wetland in Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District,
Zhao Bingxiang, crane protector of the sea braincase wetland in Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District,
Huang Changqiong, crane protector of Xiaohaiba Wetland in Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District,
Chen Guanghu, crane protector of Yinjiabei Haizi Wetland in Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District,
Shao Congxue, a crane protector of the Huikou Wetland in Dashanbao Town, Zhaoyang District,
Dong Fazhi, a crane protector of Daizi Wetland in Mashu Village, Mashu Town, Qiaojia County,
Ma Shicai, a crane protector of Daizi Wetland in Yong'an Village, Maolin Town, Yongshan County,
Li Huaizheng, a crane protector of the Dajiantang wetland in Baiyun Village, Wuzhai Township, Yongshan County...
Spring City Evening News-Opening Screen News Reporter Shen Shixun Correspondent Wu Taiping, Zheng Zhizhi, Wang Yuanjian, Wang Xingpeng Photo report
First instance Yang Qian
Responsible editor Luo Qiuxu
Responsible proofreader Lu Shicheng
Editor-in-Chief Wu Xizhi
Final Review: Editorial Board Member Chen Jie