On April 9, in the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province, a crested ibis spreads its wings and flies.
Fluttering crested ibis, come to the spring pond to perch on green trees.
From March to June every year, it is the breeding period of the crested ibis, the "jewel of the East". In Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, located in the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains, the crested ibis is busy building nests, laying eggs, and hatching. In the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province (hereinafter referred to as the "Reserve"), the staff continues to carry out artificial breeding and carefully guard the arrival of new life.
At 8:35 a.m. on April 9, in the hatchery room of the artificial breeding center of the reserve, after more than 20 days of incubation and 24 hours of pecking, the first artificially hatched crested ibis in the reserve this year successfully broke the shell. This is the first artificially hatched crested ibis in Shaanxi this year.
On the morning of April 9, in the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi, the first artificially hatched crested ibis in Shaanxi this year successfully broke its shell.
On April 9, in Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, a wild crested ibis quietly hatched its eggs.
"To care for a crested ibis, you have to be as patient as you do with a newborn child. On April 17, Liu Yi, a 55-year-old technician of the breeding department of the artificial breeding center, used a dropper to slowly drip the carefully prepared "baby meal" into the mouth of the young bird, like a sophisticated "daddy".
After 10 to 15 days in the brooding box, the crested ibis chicks are transferred to an automatic temperature-controlled brood box designed by the reserve's staff. When the sun is shining outside, the staff will take the young birds out for "sunbathing", so that the young birds can get in touch with nature for the first time. It generally takes 45 days for young birds to fly from hatching to flying. The hatching of a wild crested ibis is done by a parent bird.
A crested ibis in a wild domestication cage in the Hanzhong National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province (photo taken on April 9).
The crested ibis is strictly monogamous, and once paired, it will stay together for life. Artificial incubation is a breeding method for the rescue protection and rejuvenation of the crested ibis population, which can effectively improve the breeding success rate of the captive-bred crested ibis population. Since its incubation in 1992, more than 400 new animals have been born in the reserve. This year, the reserve has paired 28 pairs of crested ibises and is expected to lay about 70 eggs, and as of April 19, eight artificially hatched crested ibis babies have been welcomed.
"We have 24 small cages, each with a happy little family. The large cage for wild domestication covering an area of about 8 acres next to it is used to train the foraging, nesting and breeding ability of the crested ibis, prepare for the rewilding, and provide high-quality seed sources for the reintroduction of the crested ibis at home and abroad. After captive breeding and semi-wild training, the survival rate of the crested ibis is very high, whether it is released into the wild or established and re-reintroduced in other places, and it can basically reproduce successfully the next year. Duan Wenbin, an engineer from the Protected Area Administration, introduced.
On April 10, in Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, a crested ibis flew in the air.
Not only the captive-bred crested ibis, but also the crested ibises born in 1987 and later, including those born in the wild, wear rings to facilitate more accurate tracking and monitoring, and timely detection and rescue of injured, sick and hungry crested ibises. It is also an important basis for scientific research on the mating of crested ibises and the statistics of populations.
In Wentong Village, Yangxian County, five pairs of crested ibises have made their homes on big trees. "Adults and children alike know that the crested ibis is a protected animal and our friend. People often pass under the trees, sometimes watching from afar, and no one bothers them. A while ago, a nest almost fell from a tree, and someone climbed on the tree to straighten the nest. Villager Yuan Qiaolan told reporters.
On April 10, in Wentong Village, Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, a wild crested ibis with the ring name "94C" resting on a tree. According to the ring chronicle, the staff of the reserve learned that the crested ibis was born in Yunyang Village, Yangzhou Town, Yangxian County in 2017, and its signs are good.
Over the years, Shaanxi has continued to carry out environmental remediation, wetland restoration, and mountain closure and afforestation in the crested ibis activity area, which has promoted the ecological environment protection and restoration in the Qinling Mountains and improved the living environment of the crested ibis unprecedentedly. With the unremitting efforts of governments at all levels and all sectors of society, the crested ibis conservation model has been formed, which is "in situ conservation first, supplemented by ex situ conservation, rewilding and expanding the population, supporting scientific and technological research, coordinating between the government and society, and harmonious coexistence of the human ibis".
The mountains are silent, and the numbers are proof. The global crested ibis population has expanded from 7 in 1981 in Yaojiagou, Yangxian County, to more than 11,000 today, including more than 7,700 crested ibises in Shaanxi, and the endangered level has been downgraded from "critically endangered" to "endangered", and the habitat has gradually recovered to the historical distribution of East Asia. Shaanxi has released more than 500 crested ibises into the wild, exported more than 300 high-quality crested ibis provenances, and helped other parts of the mainland, Japan and South Korea to establish more than 20 artificial population bases. The crested ibis has flown out of Yangxian County, over the Qinling Mountains, and to the world.
The crested ibis in the wild domestication cage of the Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province perches on a tree (photo by reporter Wang Xi on April 9).
As a unique ecological business card of the mainland and an important carrier of foreign exchanges, the crested ibis carries the beautiful vision of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and is a rare species with important international influence. From 7 to more than 10,000, the crested ibis conservation has been hailed as "the world's successful model for saving endangered species".
Shaanxi's green and low-carbon development is becoming more and more stable, the level of ecological civilization construction is constantly improving, and the beautiful story of "Ibis Soaring the World" will become more and more exciting. (Reporter Mu Cheng)
Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province (photo taken on April 9).
The ibis soars over the world
1981 to present
●The global crested ibis population has expanded from 7 found in Yaojiagou in Yangxian County to more than 11,000 individuals
● Among them, there are more than 7,700 crested ibises in Shaanxi
●Habitat gradually restored to the historical distribution of East Asia
● More than 500 crested ibises have been released into the wild in Shaanxi
●More than 300 high-quality crested ibises were exported
●Helped other parts of the mainland, Japan and South Korea to establish more than 20 artificial population bases
(This group of information is compiled by reporter Mu Cheng)