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The Western Black-crowned Gibbon in the Immeasurable Mountains. Photo by Tang Yun, Xinhua News Agency
Kunming, October 19 (Xinhua) -- The latest survey data show that there are 104 groups of western black-crowned gibbons in the Wuliangshan area of Yunnan Province, most of which inhabit the reserve. Compared with the previous two survey results, the population of this species showed a stable and upward trend.
On October 18th, the expert review meeting of "Survey on the Population Number and Distribution of Black-crowned Gibbons in Wuliangshan" was held at the Jingdong Management and Conservation Bureau of Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Wuliangshan, Yunnan. On the same day, after the evaluation of the expert group composed of the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest University, Southwest Forestry University, etc., there are currently 104 family groups of West Black-crowned Gibbons in the Wuliangshan area, an increase of 17 groups compared with 2010.
A western black-crowned gibbon resting on a branch. Photo by Tang Yun, Xinhua News Agency
Jiang Xuelong, head of the expert review team and researcher of the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that the population of black-crowned gibbons in Shanxi has increased significantly, which not only highlights the protection effect of the nature reserve, but also reflects the significant improvement of the local people's awareness of wildlife protection.
The Western Black-crowned Gibbon is a national first-class protected animal, which is mainly distributed in the area of Wuliang Mountain and Ailao Mountain in Yunnan Province in China, of which most of them are Wuliang Mountain. In November 2020, the Jingdong Management and Conservation Bureau of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve in Wuliangshan, Yunnan Province, together with Sun Yat-sen University, launched a population survey of the western black-crowned gibbon in the Wuliangshan area.
The survey found that poaching is no longer a major threat to the growth of the population of the Western Black-crowned Gibbon. Thanks to the obvious increase in awareness of protection, no poaching cases have been detected in the wuliangshan area for more than a decade. In addition, the results of the survey show that there are currently 16 groups of western black-crowned gibbons living outside the protected area, and the population distribution is significantly spaced.