Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve is a natural barrier to the temperate climate of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which runs through the central part of Yunnan Province from northwest to southeast, and is also the boundary between the eastern and western halves of Yunnan Province. Due to the large relative elevation difference of the mountain, the vertical distribution of climate is obvious, from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, the southern subtropical, the central subtropical, the northern subtropical, the warm temperate zone, the temperate zone, and the cold temperate zone. The complex landform and diverse climate have given birth to complex and stable forest ecosystems, as well as rich and diverse wildlife resources.
collection of wild plant germplasm resources, monitoring and protection of the "national treasure" western black-crested gibbon, and bird monitoring and ringing...... In the inaccessible primeval forest of Ailao Mountain, there is a group of forest rangers who shuttle through the deep mountains and old forests all year round, they are not only the guardians of the Ailao Mountain ecosystem, but also the collectors of ecological data. They regularly carry out surveys of animal and plant resources, forest health assessments, etc., providing first-hand information for scientific research institutions and management departments to help formulate scientific ecological protection strategies.
Experienced rangers also did not dare to go into the mountains alone
"Don't bring people into the mountain" and "If you see an unfamiliar face entering the mountain, you should notify the management and conservation bureau...... In order to prevent tourists from breaking into the "forbidden area", Li Zhongbin, the head of the Dacha Road Outpost of the Xinping Management and Protection Bureau of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, and his colleagues recently visited the villages near the foot of the Ailao Mountain, and were busy publicizing the villagers.
"Recently, there has been a lot of information on Ailao Mountain on the Internet, and we are worried that tourists will get lost by mistake, so we have been promoting it in nearby villages during this time." Li Zhongbin told the Kaiping News reporter that he is a native of Ryu Township, Xinping County, and although he grew up at the foot of Ailao Mountain since he was a child, he had never entered Ailao Mountain before becoming a forest ranger. "Our locals graze cattle and sheep on the periphery of Ailao Mountain, and we don't dare to go inside." Li Zhongbin said.
Now, Li Zhongbin and his colleagues enter the core area of Ailao Mountain once or twice a month, staying in the mountain for five to eight days each time, and in addition to daily patrols, they also have to take samples and register the traces of wildlife activities and feces.
Before entering the mountain, the rangers are well prepared for emergencies, but even if they are experienced, they are afraid to enter the mountain when it rains. "When it rains, the river rises, and the mountains suddenly fog up, and it's easy for people to get lost in it, and in this environment, it's easy for people to lose temperature." Li Zhongbin said.
In Ailao Mountain, there are rangers who build a patrol house with stones and branches, which is also their temporary foothold in the dense forest. Li Zhongbin said that once he and his colleagues were repairing the patrol house, and when he and another ranger went to the patrol house to find branches to repair the roof, the mountain suddenly fogged up, and even though they had marked it, they still couldn't find their way back to the patrol house. Later, fortunately, they heard the call of their teammates, and they followed the sound to find the patrol room.
"In the depths of Ailao Mountain, there is no signal for the telephone and GPS, and the only way to judge the direction is to rely on markings and experience." Li Zhongbin told reporters that even experienced rangers do not dare to enter the mountain alone, and each time they enter the mountain, more than 5 people can enter, and when patrolling, the distance between everyone can only be about 10 meters.
Day and night, the western black-crested gibbon will listen to the rangers sing in the trees
In 1981, the Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve was designated as a large-scale provincial nature reserve with the goal of protecting the wetland evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem in the mountains and rare wild animals such as the western black-crested gibbon. The western black-crested gibbon is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with a global population of only 1,100 to 1,300 individuals. On the mainland, the western black-crested gibbon is also a national I. key protected wild animal, a critically endangered species, it is extremely dependent on the natural environment, and its number is a barometer of the advantages and disadvantages of natural ecology.
In 2010, the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, carried out a survey on the population distribution of the western black crested gibbon in national and county-level reserves. According to the survey report, there are 124 groups of western black-crested gibbons in Ailao Mountain in Xinping, with about 500 individuals.
Li Linguo, a 44-year-old ranger at the Xinping Management and Conservation Bureau of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, and his main job is to monitor the activities of the western black-crested gibbons in the area with his colleagues. After many years of getting along day and night, as long as Li Linguo sings in the mountains, the gibbons will even listen to him sing in the trees.
"They are alert and timid, so you should run lightly in the mountains and not scare them. In addition, because the western black-crested gibbon is very active in trees, it is not yet possible to track them slowly. When they track the western black-crested gibbon, they will always use the soles of their feet to land first, and when the soles of their feet hit the ground, the heels will fall again, so that the sound of stepping on the fallen leaves will be reduced; As for speed, it's built up over time.
Li Linguo's father is also a forest ranger, and under the influence of his father, Li Linguo also loves the mountains. In his opinion, the tracking and monitoring process of the western black-crested gibbon is to make friends with these elves, and his life has been integrated with Ailao Mountain.
Kaiping News reporter Li Chunli, He Xiaoyu, Wen Courtesy of Xinping Management and Protection Bureau of Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan
First instance He Xiaoyu
Editor-in-charge: He Dan, Chen Jie
Responsible proofreading for Cat Enbo
Editor-in-chief Xiong Bo
Final Review: Editorial Board Member Li Rong