In the wilderness in mid-autumn, the Tibetan fox "Fox Three" sometimes runs freely, sometimes slows down and starts hunting, and sometimes finds a piece of grass to rest for a while...... Looking at the trajectory points and photos of the surrounding environment transmitted back by the satellite positioning collar, Qi Xinzhang showed a pleased smile.
Qi Xinzhang is the deputy director of the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, and has been engaged in the rescue of wild animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time. "According to the data transmitted back by the collar, as of October 10, the activity of the Tibetan fox is normal, and it can be preliminarily judged that the release was successful." Qi Xinzhang said that this is also the first time in China that the injured Tibetan fox has been released after wearing a satellite collar.
The Tibetan fox is a national second-class key protected animal, endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, mainly distributed in Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu, Xinjiang and western Sichuan in mainland China, and also found in parts of Nepal, India and other countries.
This is the rescued Tibetan fox "Fox Three". (Photo provided by the interviewee)
It is reported that on June 4 this year, the Tibetan fox was stuck in a net fence in Riyue Tibetan Township, Huangyuan County, Xining City, Qinghai Province, and was sent to the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center for shelter and rescue due to inconvenience and poor physical condition. After a physical examination, the Tibetan fox was identified as a male, a sub-adult born in 2023, with a slightly thin body; The body surface was messy, the whole body was contaminated with sludge, there was no obvious trauma, and there was no abnormality in X-ray examination and blood physiological and biochemical examination.
"When this Tibetan fox first came back, he was drenched, his face was thin and long, like a triangle, and he got rid of a mahjong 'three'. According to the central convention, we named it 'Kitsune Sanjo'. Qi Xinzhang said that according to the relevant technical regulations for ambulance, the "fox three" was kept in isolation separately for recovery.
With the continuous improvement of the physical condition of "Fox Sanjo", in early August, the center tested and evaluated the wild survival ability of "Fox Sanjo" by feeding live pigeons and live rabbits, and preliminarily confirmed that it has the ability to survive in the wild and meets the conditions for release.
On September 26, the Tibetan fox "Fox Three" was put on a satellite positioning collar. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Subsequently, the customized satellite positioning collar of the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center arrived in Xining. Qi Xinzhang introduced that in addition to the conventional positioning function, the collar also has a built-in high-definition camera, which can capture the environment around the life of Tibetan foxes, and the image data can be used for the evaluation of release results and scientific research data collection to study the behavior and habits of wild Tibetan foxes.
On September 26, after wearing a satellite positioning collar, the "fox three strips" were taken to the vicinity of the ambulance site and released. The reintroduction site is a gentle slope at an altitude of 3,300 meters, a typical alpine meadow habitat, fed by a stream nearby, and surrounded by a large number of highland pikas.
As the cage slowly opened, the "fox three" quickly ran out, stopped for a short time to observe the surroundings, and finally disappeared into the low meadow.
It is understood that as of October 10, the satellite collar has obtained a total of 325 pieces of "fox three" positioning data and nearly 50 photos. Qi Xinzhang introduced that the collar return data shows that the "fox three" daily activities within a radius of about 2 kilometers from the release site, with an activity area of about 10 square kilometers, "It likes to be active and hunt in an open environment, and it is the most active in the morning and dusk, with obvious diurnalism." ”
Qi Xinzhang said that this release has realized the close integration of animal medicine and ecological conservation, and will provide more abundant basic data for the study of individual behavior of Tibetan foxes.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author, this account is only shared and not commercialized, if there is a source error or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, you can contact us, we will deal with it in a timely manner.