Xinhua News Agency, Lanzhou, April 23rd Title: Protecting Sichuan Golden Monkey in the Deep Forest
Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing
There is a ravine in the deep forest of Yuhe Town, Wudu District, Longnan City, Gansu Province, surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and the middle stream flows by itself. Yang Zhonglu, 56, dressed in green overalls, was carrying a bag of carrots in his left hand and a pot of corn kernels in his right hand, and his mouth sounded like a monkey. At the moment, there was a noise between the cliffs in front of us, and a group of golden monkeys roared.
This is a male Sichuan golden monkey photographed in Yuhe Park, Gansu area of Giant Panda National Park. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing photo
Not far away, on the observation deck of the plank road, wildlife conservation experts observed the habits of monkeys, while photographers and tourists from all over the world kept pressing the shutter to record the beautiful images of this rare "national treasure".
This is a scene in Yuhe Park in Gansu area of Giant Panda National Park. It is located at the intersection of Qinling Mountain and Minshan Mountain, with a vegetation coverage rate of over 90%. Rare and endangered wild animals such as Sichuan golden monkey, giant panda and antelope and rare and endangered wild plants such as Davidia involucrata live and grow here, enjoying the reputation of "biological community" and "ecological oxygen bar".
Yang Zhonglu’s home is located at the foot of this nature reserve. Familiar with the terrain, since he was in his twenties, he has often assisted relevant departments to go deep into the hinterland of the reserve to carry out a general survey of animal and plant resources. Since then, Yang Zhonglu has become a forest ranger, engaged in daily mountain patrol and wildlife protection. Yang Zhonglu said that during the patrol, he set off from home at 4 am and walked through the dense forest to trace the golden monkeys and observe and record their living habits.
Yang Zhonglu interacts with Sichuan golden monkey in Yuhe Park, Gansu area of Giant Panda National Park. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing photo
In 2017, due to the need of scientific research, the reserve guided a group of Sichuan golden monkeys to live in the lower half of the mountain. In order to take good care of this group of "scientific research objects", Yang Zhonglu and seven other villagers set up eight simple tents around this mountain valley to guard them around the clock.
Wang Chengliang, an associate researcher of Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, was the first expert to study Sichuan golden monkey in Yuhe. He said, "Sichuan golden monkey is mainly distributed in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei. The Sichuan golden monkey in Yuhe, Gansu Province, as a species group in the transitional zone between north and south climate, has both southern and northern characteristics, which is of great significance for studying the population diversity of Sichuan golden monkey. " In recent years, Wang Chengliang’s team has been cooperating with local authorities to actively build the West Qinling Field Research Base of Gansu Yuhechuan Golden Monkey.
This is a Sichuan golden monkey shot in Yuhe Park, Gansu area of Giant Panda National Park. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing photo
With the golden monkey constantly entering everyone’s sight, the eco-tourism route of "going to Yuhe to see the golden monkey" became popular inadvertently. Tao Rui, deputy mayor of Yuhe Town, said that more and more wildlife photographers, popular science research teams and tourists rushed into Yuhe to visit this group of "mountain elves", accelerate the formation of tourism formats of mountain homestays and farmhouses, and broaden the channels for people in mountainous areas to increase their income and get rich.
In Yuhe Park, Gansu area of Giant Panda National Park, two newborn cubs of Sichuan golden monkey are climbing. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lang Bingbing photo
Bai Yongxing, director of the Monitoring Center of Yuhe Park in Gansu District of Giant Panda National Park, said that in recent years, relying on the "umbrella protection effect" of Giant Panda National Park, the ecological environment in the protected area has been continuously improved, and the population of rare wild animals such as Sichuan golden monkey has been increasing. Monitoring shows that there are 13 groups of Sichuan golden monkey population in the park, about 1100.