Abandoned highway in the core area of Qinling Corridor 108
Cover News Reporter Yan Wenwen, Liu Yanjun, Zhou Qin, Wu Yong
1570 meters, which is the length of the Qinling Highway Tunnel of National Highway 108 across the main ridge of the Qinling Mountains. However, if you came here before the year 2000, you would have to travel 13 kilometers in the mountains.
These 13 kilometers are not only the 13 kilometers separating the south and north of China, but also the distance between the two populations of wild giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains. In particular, the local population of giant pandas in Tianhua Mountain on the east side is only 20, which has a high survival risk.
In September 2005, with the support of the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Guanyinshan National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province officially launched the 108 National Highway Qinling Tunnel Area Giant Panda Habitat Management Project, namely the 108 Corridor Project. In May this year, on the east side of the corridor, infrared cameras captured images of giant panda activities for the first time!
The two groups of giant pandas, which have been separated for 30 years, are slowly getting closer after 18 years of human efforts......
108 National Highway Qinling Tunnel Entrance
Wild pandas are gone
From the famous scenic spot "Panda Valley" in Foping, go all the way north, and the car will go to the mouth of the Qinling Tunnel. Not far away, on the left side of the two-way two-lane road, a small road has been reborn with weeds. The small stones scattered on the driveway make the originally narrow and cramped road.
This is the G108 National Highway before the Qinling Tunnel was built, which is 13 kilometers above the main ridge of the Qinling Mountains.
Although the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway was built in the 30s of the last century and was incorporated into the 108 National Highway after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Qinling section from Zhouzhi to Hanzhong was not completed until the 70s of the last century. Especially in the 90s of the last century, the asphalt paved road became the traffic artery between Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and more than 400,000 vehicles of various kinds traveled on this ridge every year during the peak period.
Wild giant pandas gradually disappeared from both sides of the road.
The reporter walked on the abandoned highway in the core area of the 108 corridor in the Qinling Mountains
Abandoned highway in the core area of Qinling Corridor 108
"When I first arrived, there were colleagues who had rescued giant pandas in the vicinity, but it became more and more difficult to see giant pandas. "Zhu Yun, section chief of the Longcaoping Forestry Bureau, came to Qinling to work in the 90s of the last century, and was initially engaged in logging and replanting in forest farms.
In 1999, the whole country implemented a natural forest protection project, and the Longcaoping Forestry Bureau also completely stopped the logging of natural forests. The focus of the work has shifted from deforestation to forest resource protection, and the conservation of wild animals mainly by giant pandas.
Even so, the results of the third national giant panda survey in 2003 showed that the Qinling giant panda was divided into a local population of five or six giant pandas by farmland, roads, villages, and some points considered habitable. In particular, National Highway 108 separates the giant panda habitat into east and west, and the Xinglongling in the west and the Tianhua Mountain population in the east have been completely cut off by the national highway.
Relevant data show that when the number of individuals in a giant panda population is too small, due to factors such as reduced genetic diversity and inbreeding in the population, it is likely to lead to a decrease in the adaptability of its offspring to the environment, thereby increasing the survival risk of the population on a large scale.
The local population of giant pandas in Tianhua Mountain on the east side is only 20, and the survival risk is high. Only by connecting with the core population of Xinglongling on the west side as soon as possible can the survival status of the Tianhua Mountain population be changed.
Abandoned highway in the core area of Qinling Corridor 108
From 8.7 km to 500 m
How to make the giant panda population cut off by National Highway 108 get closer again has become a problem hanging in everyone's hearts.
Giant pandas are sensitive by nature and have a strong sense of territory, not only have high requirements for the environment they live in, but also "elusive" and do not like to come into contact with humans. It is the ideal solution to eliminate the interference of human activities as much as possible and let the giant pandas return to the mountains and forests.
"Around 2005, we applied for support from the State Forestry Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to start the joint implementation of the Giant Panda Corridor Restoration and Management Project (Corridor 108 Project) in this area. Zhu Yun said.
One of the most important aspects is to grow bamboo.
99% of the panda's food source is bamboo, and different parts of bamboo are fed in different seasons. If you want the pandas to come back, you have to prepare their rations first.
"We planted this bamboo more than 10 years ago, and you can see how well it grows now. "Walking along the overgrown path to the main ridge of the Qinling Mountains, the road is already lined with bamboo forests, and the breeze blows and rustles. Zhu Yun introduced: "In the Qinling area, the giant pandas love to eat Qinling arrow bamboo and Bashan wood bamboo, so we mainly plant these two kinds of bamboo. ”
In the past ten years, uninterrupted planting has increased the bamboo forest area in this area by 3,000 acres. In addition, in addition to the preparation of food rations, the 108 Corridor project has implemented a number of factors to reduce human interference, such as the development of alternative livelihoods in the community, the use of firewood stoves in the community, the closure of the corridor area, and the guidance of the behavior of visitors in the vicinity. The giant panda, which has not appeared above the Qinling Tunnel for more than 30 years, is slowly approaching here.
Qinling giant panda
According to the data, in 2003, the results of the third national giant panda survey showed that the shortest distance of giant panda activity on both sides of the corridor was 8.7 kilometers, and in 2012, the results of the fourth national giant panda survey showed that the shortest distance between giant pandas and this corridor has been shortened to 4 kilometers.
Ten years later, in 2022, infrared camera monitoring revealed that a giant panda was active about 500 meters west of the abandoned road in the core area of Corridor 108 in the Qinling Mountains. In May this year, infrared cameras captured a photo of an adult giant panda on the east side of National Highway 108, which was the first time that a giant panda was photographed east of National Highway 108 after the corridor was established.
The giant panda, which has been away for 30 years, is slowly approaching the corridor.
Footprints of an ocelot
A photographer hidden deep in the mountains
"Come and see, this string is the footprints of an ocelot!" On the trail, Zhu Yun's colleague Cai Qiong was surprised to share his discovery with everyone.
Cai Qiong and Zhu Yun came to work at the Longcaoping Forestry Bureau at about the same time, and they have been working in the same department since the establishment of the reserve. Cai Qiong is active, loves to fiddle with cameras and various equipment, and as soon as she has some free time, she carries her camera to the mountains to take pictures.
It's not fun to take a photo and enjoy it yourself, and I will also put it on various photography forums to communicate with everyone.
Among the animals photographed by Cai Qiong, many are rare animals that are rare to see. Therefore, in the photography circle, his screen name "Qinling Arjun" is famous. Speaking of the animals she photographed, Cai Qiong was a little proud, "The rarest bird I have ever photographed is the Sichuan forest owl, which will be upgraded to a national first-class protected animal in 2021." ”
"Why do we love to take pictures? Because when we go to work in the mountains, sometimes we spend weeks in the mountains. After work, if you have nothing to do, just find a place to shoot birds. Cai Qiong took out her mobile phone and clicked on the photo album, and most of the thousands of photos were animals, including birds, takin, and giant pandas.
Qinling giant panda
But the most striking thing is a photo of Cai Qiong with a wild giant panda, the panda is eating bamboo, and Cai Qiong is standing next to her with white teeth: "This photo was taken near Sanguan Temple." ”
"As long as the season is right, you will always come across them. In her more than 20 years of work, Cai Qiong has seen pandas in the wild a few times, but she has more opportunities to deal with panda feces. Introducing these, he said, "Panda feces are actually quite easy to identify, and there are obvious bamboo fragments in them. ”
In addition to identifying the feces of giant pandas, Cai Qiong is also very experienced in inspecting whether the bamboo forest has been eaten by pandas: "If a broken bamboo has a bamboo skin next to it, it is eaten by giant pandas." ”
But unfortunately, along the abandoned road above the Qinling Tunnel, no traces of panda feeding have been found. Cai Qiong stood on the edge of the cliff and pointed down, "But in the area below, a few meters away from the side of the road, there is a place where there are traces of pandas starting to eat bamboo." ”
A group of golden snub-nosed monkeys near National Highway 108 that are not afraid of people
Wholehearted protection
Between the vast Qinling Mountains and ravines, there are countless living beings. Not only the wildlife, but also the mountain people who have lived here for generations.
Drive along National Highway 108, and you will encounter small shops opened by local mountain people every other section, in addition to daily department stores, there is also a very important Qinling specialty - honey.
It may seem unrelated, but in fact it is part of the conservation of giant pandas.
"Targeted community sustainable development projects have been carried out in the reserve. Zhu Yun introduced that including Chinese bee breeding, Chinese herbal medicine planting, firewood stove reconstruction, etc., the number of beneficiaries accounts for 80% of the entire region's population. While increasing the income of the villagers, it also reduces the disturbance and destruction of the giant panda's habitat by humans.
On the other hand, the villagers have gradually changed their identities to join the wild giant panda conservation team and become part-time forest rangers. Today, villagers report to the reserve if they see a giant panda or other wildlife in need of rescue. "To a certain extent, this has helped the villagers understand the work of the reserve and improve their awareness of conservation. Zhu Yun said.
Qinling giant panda
Nowadays, Shaanxi Province is making every effort to promote the establishment of Qinling National Park, and the typical vertical vegetation spectrum of the mountains in the north and south foothills of the Qinling Mountains, important habitats for rare and endangered species such as giant pandas, crested ibises, Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, and takins, important water conservation and supply areas, important natural relics and famous mountains and rivers are included in the planning scope of Qinling National Park. In addition, the local government will also speed up the construction of the Shaanxi area of the Giant Panda National Park, and jointly carry out coordinated legislation for the Giant Panda National Park with Sichuan Province and Gansu Province.
"Whether it is the Qinling Giant Panda National Park or the future Qinling National Park, we will only strengthen the conservation of giant pandas. Zhu Yun said, "We also hope that in the future, we can make this a more suitable place for giant pandas and their companions to live, and gradually realize the happy ending of the Qinling giant pandas." ”
"In 5 years, come here to see the pandas!"
[If you have news clues, please report to us, once adopted, there will be a fee.] WeChat attention: ihxdsb, QQ: 3386405712]