◆ Chu Wenwen once rescued such a beaver - because of the competition with other beavers for territory, it was seriously injured, but it very much wanted to survive. The beaver has been eating non-stop, after eating it will lie down and rest, Chu Wenwen and colleagues think that the beaver is recovering well, but suddenly one day, the beaver convulses and dies, Chu Wenwen cried for 9 hours
"I'm no longer the little girl who just holds dead animals and cries, and I'm growing up myself in the process of protecting beavers." ”
◆"With so many young people able to participate in nature conservation, I think China's future nature conservation cause will be great." ”
Wen 丨 "Lookout" News Weekly reporter Chang Qingtan Zhai Junjie intern Wei Mengmeng
At the just-held 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Chu Wenwen, a 27-year-old girl from Xinjiang, attracted a lot of attention. Known as the "Princess of beavers", she trekked on the Gobi in Xinjiang's Altay region, planting trees for beavers, rescuing snow leopards... It also opens live broadcasts and videos on the Internet, so that more and more post-90s and post-00s generations can participate in the protection of wild animals in Xinjiang.
More than just "Beaver Princess"
"Hello everyone, I'm Chu Wenwen, I'm a wildlife conservation worker." In the short videos filmed by Chu Wenwen, she often introduces herself in this way.
The Mengxin beaver is a national first-class protected animal, with less than a thousand animals in the world, and is an endangered species that is rarer than the giant panda. They are good at damming and storing water, feeding mainly on branches, and one of the habitats they rely on is the Altay Ulungu River Basin.
The relationship with the beaver begins when Chu Wenwen is 2 years old. Chu Wenwen's father, Chu Hongjun, was an animal protectionist, and in the 1990s, he traveled to Altay to study the Mengxin beaver, taking the 2-year-old Chu Wenwen with him. Although she is very young, Chu Wenwen is not afraid of wild animals. Seeing the sheep, wild horses and beavers, she only felt the beauty of nature: "I feel that I am in touch with nature. ”
In this way, his father planted the seed of love for nature in Chu Wenwen's heart. After growing up, Chu Wenwen has been working hard in this direction. Now, she is a PhD student at Beijing Forestry University, majoring in wildlife conservation.
Chu Wenwen said that some people think that beavers will destroy the ecology by gnawing on trees, but this is not the case. Beavers only chew on dense trees, and they are known as the architects of the animal kingdom, "building dams" and "building villas", thus forming a wetland in the place where they live, which can provide more habitat for other aquatic and bird animals.
Since officially engaging in beaver conservation work in 2014, beavers have become a part of Chu Wenwen's life. In addition to the "Beaver Princess", some people call her "Wild Fairy", but her daily life is not as easy as that of a fairy. Scratched by barbed wire, worn knee pain... These have long been commonplace for her.
Chu Wenwen said with a smile that although the outside world is used to calling herself "Beaver Princess", in fact, her job is not just to protect the beaver. She also needs to protect other wildlife in the Altay region. Whether it is a hedgehog, a fox or a golden eagle, local herders or rescue stations will contact Chu Wenwen as soon as possible and ask her for professional assistance.
Chu Wenwen founded hitomi's nature image studio, the original intention is to let people in the city can see wild animals and natural scenery, so that more people fall in love with Xinjiang and wildlife protection. But gradually she discovered that it wasn't enough to just record and photograph, "protecting wildlife requires more people to take action."
Bring together the power of more people
Chu Wenwen once rescued such a beaver - because of the competition with other beavers for territory, it was seriously injured, but it very much wanted to survive. The beaver has been eating non-stop, after eating it will lie down and rest, Chu Wenwen and colleagues think that the beaver is recovering well, but suddenly one day, the beaver convulses and dies, Chu Wenwen cried for 9 hours.
Beavers are territorially conscious animals, but due to shrinking habitats, it is difficult for beaver populations to grow. Chu Wenwen understood that there was very little she could do on her own. Therefore, with the help of the Internet, she launched a series of wildlife protection public welfare projects.
The first public welfare project is "Beaver Guardian". Chu Wenwen and her colleagues opened a donation platform, and donors need to donate 500 yuan to a nest of beavers, which will be provided to the herdsmen's families in the playground where the beavers are located, and the family will take on the task of guarding the beavers. "Because a lot of beavers live outside protected areas, it's better if herders are involved in protecting beavers." Chu Wenwen said.
Today, more than 100 herders have passed the field work skills training and become public welfare patrols for nature conservation. Donors can claim their favorite beaver families, name them, and receive photos of the beaver families taken by Chu Wenwen.
The second public welfare project is the "Beaver Canteen". Funds raised on the Internet are used to buy saplings, ask local herders to help plant and care for them, and if the survival rate of the saplings meets the requirements, herders can receive more subsidies. In Altay, a bottle of Coke can cost to plant a tree. "In this way, we give the herders a choice. They can let cows, horses and camels nibble on saplings, but then they get less subsidies. Chu Wenwen said.
Today, with the help of herders, 410,000 shrub willow saplings have taken root in the Altay region.
In April, with the help of the local government, Chu Wenwen launched a third Internet public welfare project, "Beaver Ark", that is, to establish the Mengxin Beaver Rescue Center to provide treatment, surgery and rehabilitation for injured beavers and other wild animals, and finally to help them return to nature. This is the first professional beaver rescue agency in China, and it is also the first professional wildlife rescue center in the Altai Mountains in China.
In addition, Chu Wenwen also opened a live broadcast of wild animals, and set up a camera in the wild for 24 hours to broadcast live, which not only allowed fans to participate, but also alleviated the problem of insufficient manpower for animal protection.
In the past four years, more than one million netizens have participated in the Internet wildlife protection public welfare project initiated by Chu Wenwen. Chu Wenwen said that she is no longer the little girl who can only hold dead animals and cry bitterly, "in the process of protecting beavers, I myself am growing and becoming more mature."
After the end of this year's college entrance examination, someone asked Chu Wenwen on the short video platform what kind of major to choose to participate in wildlife protection. Chu Wenwen said: "Everyone has something to do, not necessarily to come to the wild, saving water in life can also protect nature." ”
"Doing self-media is not to make money"
On October 11, 2021, Chu Wenwen, as a representative of Chinese youth, spoke at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, sharing her experience in leading the team to carry out Internet public welfare activities in the past four years. Walking off the venue, she couldn't wait to take off the high heels on her feet, "not used to it, too tired."
In the past four years, through the efforts of Chu Wenwen and the team, the Mengxin beaver in the Altay region has increased from 162 to 190 litters, and the population has increased by 20%. But she felt that it was not her own fault. "This is the result of the joint efforts of the government, netizens, local herders and colleagues," Chu Wenwen felt that she was just doing what she liked, "I like wild animals, and doing these things is natural and natural." ”
Chu Wenwen said that she did self-media not to make money, but because most of their work needs to use donations, and she also hopes to let everyone intuitively see the results of protection through short videos, "fans can see where the donated money is spent."
Xinjiang's professional animal protection personnel are still scarce, and veterinarians and trainers at beaver rescue centers can now rehabilitate rescued animals to regain their ability to survive in the wild.
For the future, Chu Wenwen is quite confident: "So many young people like me are involved in nature conservation, and I think China's future nature conservation cause will be very good." ”
Published in Lookout, No. 44, 2021
Source: Lookout