On February 5, 32 years later, the "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection" was finally adjusted and officially released, and the biggest highlight of it was undoubtedly the species that were not in the list before, and the latest species listed as the national key protection object, as well as the species upgraded from secondary protection to first-level protection. What are the new key protected animals in Shaanxi? What are the characteristics of that?
Five new species of mammals were added
Raccoons, ocelots, fur-crowned deer, red foxes, and shuffle foxes are the new mammals. One might ask why there are no wolves, but that's because in the 1980s, wolves in Shaanxi were functionally extinct. When you think of raccoons, you may immediately think of the idiom "one hill of raccoons", allusions from the Book of Han, meaning raccoons on the same hill, metaphors are equally inferior to each other, there is no difference. Interestingly, it is often confused with a raccoon. Raccoons are omnivores whose diet includes: rodents, amphibians, birds, fish, reptiles, mollusks, carrion and insects, eating almost anything.
How many ocelots are in Shaanxi? No one has conducted accurate research yet, the ocelot as a small hunter, has a strong adaptability, from tropical rainforests to desert heights, the original is its habitat, is also the most widely distributed cat in China. It's shy by nature, but it's extraordinary! The reason why it is difficult to see is that first of all, it is a nightcrawler, which is different from the human schedule! Ha ha! Secondly, as the most sensitive feline on the planet, it is an "insult" to you to meet it easily. In recent years, it has been commonly used to hybridize with the cute upstart, the Bengal leopard cat, to breed more "wild" offspring.
Hairy-crowned deer, endemic to China, unique Mohican hairstyle is very consistent with its name, males have extremely short and unpronged horns, which are difficult to see in the wild, and males can also grow canine teeth! The sense of hearing and smell is more developed, especially the undercenomorphal glands, which can be regarded as the most developed deer, which plays a considerable role in the interconnection between species and the search for mates. In order to compete for the female, the males hit each other with their canine teeth and front hooves, often causing blood stains, before they could distinguish between victory and defeat. As soon as there is movement, it will slip away like smoke, and even the hounds will not be able to chase it. However, it has a fatal weakness: when it escapes, it cocks its tail high, and the white hair on the inside seems to be a "white flag" pulled up, and the target is obvious. They are often hunted for this.
Red foxes and sand foxes, previously all provincial key protections, are also random omnivores, red foxes like to tease prey that can no longer escape in predation, in addition to "killing behavior", which refers to killing prey that far exceeds their own food at a time. In general, animals hunt to meet their own food needs. However, "killing" clearly violates this law. More studies have found that not only red foxes, but also many animals such as lions, polar bears, golden leopards, etc., have "killed behavior". Shuffle foxes prefer to live in grasslands and semi-deserts, with rodents as their main diet, followed by birds and insects.
The number of birds increased by up to 41
Birds have the largest number of new key protections, the most famous of which are the yellow-breasted bunting and the blue-headed diving duck, these two birds that were not originally in the provincial key protection list, because of the large number of human hunting, from no danger to endangerment, this time directly included in the national key protection list, it is also a wake-up call for human beings! The thrush, red-billed acacia bird, red-throated singing plover, blue-throated singing plover, and Mongolian lark, which are often captured by humans as caged birds, are finally included in the key protection list, which will greatly deter those illegal hunters, after all, the legal standards for their sentencing have been greatly increased. There is no harm without buying and selling! Breeders can also violate criminal law, or it is better to release them into the wild as soon as possible!
In addition, the bird species in Shaanxi that are significantly decreasing in number are also included, such as the ibis-billed sandpiper, the big stone chicken, the black-necked duck, the spotted autumn sand duck, the flower-faced duck, the water pheasant, the big sandpiper, the Aurora crow, the red-billed finch, the northern suzaku, the white-throated stone shrew, the brown-bellied big fairy eagle, the black-throated singing duck, the golden-breasted bird, etc. There are also some half-webbed sandpipers, white-spotted warship birds, tumbler sandpipers, cotton sandpipers and so on that occasionally appear in Shaanxi. Birds are the most accessible wild animals for humans, and it is vital to protect them!
Amphibians crawl and insects are minimal
Amphibian reptile research is relatively minimally invested in, so many of them may have disappeared before they were discovered! This time, only the Qin Baba salamander and the Ningshan-toothed toad were listed in the key protection. There is also limited information on them, the Qin Baba salamander is distributed in southern Shaanxi, western Henan, northeast Sichuan, during the day mostly hidden in the creek or under the nearby stones, the wild in the water foraging, is an important ecological indicator species, very sensitive to environmental pollution. The Ningshan-toothed toad is endemic to China. The end of the snout has a blue patch that approximately rectangles, and it is difficult to find a clear photo at present.
Among the insect species added this time, the most clear is the golden phoenix butterfly, which is also the only new butterfly, as the largest butterfly in China, also known as the "monarch butterfly". Every year in mid-to-late June, you can see butterflies soaring in the air all over the Qinling Mountains, and even occasionally in the Guanzhong Plain. Adults like to hover high in the air, although slow flight, but strong flight, can fly for hours without stopping, after being frightened and then quickly fly away. Adult insects visit flowers, suck nectar, occasionally go to the ground to drink water, and pretend to be dead after being caught. The golden butterfly has almost no natural predators, and since the larvae feed on aristolochia and contain the poisonous aristolochic acid in their bodies, the bright yellow color can be regarded as a warning color. In addition, there are several kinds of beetles, but the specific list is still being identified.
Zhang Qiang/Wen