6 | Tuesday, August 17, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | DAILY CHINA Unique study aids efforts to protect

The forests of Southwest China are home to a large population of the vulnerable . Yang Wanli and Li Yingqing report from Xinping county, .

i Guolin, a forest ranger in the Ailao Mountains in the Heading toward southwestern province of Yunnan, takes care of many extinction? Ldifferent plant species. However, the 40-year-old also China is home to six subspe- looks after an endangered — cies of : the eastern black the western black crested gibbon, a crested; the western black crest- small named for the black ed; the Skywalker hoolock; the fur on the crown of its head. Hainan; the Lar; and the North- In recent decades, the loss of its ern white-cheeked. habitat to the expansion of agricul- The first four are listed as ture, illegal use of forest land and “critically endangered” on the unlawful logging have led to a sharp Red List of the International decline in the ’s numbers. Union for Conservation of The International Union for Con- Nature, while the others may servation of Nature classifies the spe- now be extinct. cies as the second-most endangered primate in the world, with a total pop- Black crested gibbon (western ulation of between 1,100 and 1,300. and eastern) Yunnan is the species’ sole habitat It is found in China, and in China, and Xinping county is home . However, China has to 124 groups, the largest number in the largest population, with only the province, comprising 500 to 600 small groups found in the other members in total. countries. Li’s base, the management office of Population estimates in Chi- the Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve na range from about 270 to in Xinping, has been making conser- 300 groups, with the most vation efforts since the late 1980s. important subpopulations Those efforts have helped to pro- residing in the Wuliang Moun- mote a rise in the animal’s population tains and the Ailao Mountains in in recent years. A female western black crested gibbon is photographed in the mountainous areas of Xinping county, Yunnan province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Yunnan province. Also, under the guidance of scien- tists, the forest rangers have success- Hainan gibbon fully accustomed the gibbons to their In the late 1950s, the popula- presence through several years of day- tion was estimated to be about to-day observations, rather than sim- 2,000 individuals. By 1989, that ply providing them with food to was thought to have fallen to a encourage familiarity. Xinping single relict population — the It is the first time the western black Yunnan remnants of a larger unit — of 21 crested gibbon has been studied in gibbons in four groups. this way anywhere in the world. At present, there are more In 2010, Li was assigned to work at than 25 individuals, but the Chamagudao station, which is over- exact number cannot be ascer- seen by the Xinping office, spending tained because of the difficulty more than two years following the CHINA DAILY of tracking dispersed juveniles. region’s gibbons every day and becoming their “friend”. between females and males. But one Skywalker In 2009, he inherited the job from day, I noticed that Ping wouldn’t In China, the population is his father, who worked at Zhelong echo Xin’s calls because he had taken estimated to be approximately station on a summit in the Ailao some fruit from her the day before. I 200 individuals in nine small range. was astonished that she was in a sulk groups. In , estimates At the age of 29 in 2010, Li was with her husband, which is also com- range between 10,000 and selected as one of three young ran- mon between human couples,” Li 50,000 individuals, representing gers responsible for patrol work at said. at least 98 percent of the global the Chamagudao station. population. “We were the youngest in the Gender confusion reserve and could race the gibbons Xinping is now more than 7 years Lar gibbon physically,” Li said with a laugh. He old, close to sexual maturity. But it’s In the 1960s, there were esti- recalled that during the first two still hard to determine its gender, mated to be 200 individuals on years, he woke at 4:30 am every day which can usually be easily recog- both sides of the Nangun River to have breakfast — the only pre- nized by the color of the fur. Howev- in Yunnan. In 1988, the date of pared meal he ate every day. er, the coats of western black crested the last sighting, it was estimat- Now, he starts his day at 6 am by gibbons change color during their ed that there were less than 10 identifying the location of a group of lives, according to Jiang. groups. gibbons and preparing to record “Their fur is usually dark brown or Meanwhile, in 1992, the date their daily activities. He begins with black after birth and it turns yellow of the last survey, the authors their morning calls, which are at the age of 2. A final change will did not find any direct evidence important indicators that help locate come when they are 8 years old. The of the species’ persistence but the gibbons and assess the numbers fur of females remains yellow and estimated that three groups of one or more groups. the males’ fur turns black,” he said. may remain, with about 10 indi- More confusingly, irrespective of viduals in total. Recent data sug- Accurate method Clockwise from top: Western black crested gibbons rest on tree branches after searching for food in gender, juvenile western black crest- gest that this species has died “It’s a unique and highly accurate Xinping. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Forest ranger Li Guolin records the activities of western black crest- ed gibbons have a “fake” penis, out in China. method of studying gibbons,” said ed gibbons in the Ailao Mountains in Yunnan. YANG WANLI / CHINA DAILY which gradually disappears if the Jiang Xuelong, a professor with the carrier is female. Northern white-cheeked Kunming Institute of Zoology at the Jiang said studies are ongoing, as gibbon Chinese Academy of Sciences. pm, when the make their and the gibbons has shrunk from Xinping, the same pronunciation as there are many special characteris- It may now be extinct in Chi- Having studied ecology final choice of a tree in which they about 30 meters to 2 meters thanks the county’s name,” he said. tics that need to be determined. na. A series of surveys docu- and evolution for many years, Jiang will spend the night in safety. to the day-to-day companionship. In recent years, Li has recorded “Before we get an answer, our mented its decline from about said gibbons move very quickly in “During the day, they only have a “One day, I was patrolling in the important activities, including how prime task is to protect the apes 1,000 individuals in the 1960s to the forest, swinging from tree to tree. nap at noon. So, we have to walk for forest and a gibbon suddenly the mother trained her offspring, from extinction, so our younger gen- probable extinction. The most “They spend their lives in the about 13 hours a day in the moun- jumped to the ground and picked up who was very timid before the age of eration will have a chance to see the recent surveys in the Mengla upper branches of the trees and sel- tains. It’s a tough job, even for a some fruit that had fallen from a tree. 2 and clung to her fur all day. species and continue this research,” and Shangyong Nature Reserve, dom stay on the ground. That makes young man. On rainy days, the work It was just 2 meters in front of me, “Ping held the baby’s legs, hung it he said. Yunnan, in 2008 and 2011, observation a challenge,” he said. of observing and recording is even but it didn’t run away. It just glanced upside down and swung it gently. We determined that the species is Physical fitness is crucial for the harder than usual,” he said. at me and continued to eat the fruit. think this helped Xinping become Contact the writers at either extinct or functionally job, and the process of recording the Having persisted in his efforts for We stayed like that for about 10 min- used to the feeling of swinging from [email protected] extinct in China. animals’ movements scientifically is two years, Li successfully drew near utes — I think it regarded me as tree to tree in the forest,” Li said. YANG WANLI also demanding. the three gibbon groups at Chama- another wild species,” he said. Moreover, he also noticed that According to Li, the gibbons’ gudao station. In 2013, he saw them In 2013, Li witnessed a gibbon cou- family members share emotional Online Source: Red List of the movements must be recorded every for 19 consecutive days during each ple produce a youngster. “I named fluctuations, just like humans. Scan to International Union for three minutes. The recording sched- of his monthly 22-day patrols. the father Xin and the mother Ping, “Early in the day, we always hear watch a video Conservation of Nature ule usually only ends at about 7:30 Now, the distance between him and then gave the baby the name the loud, unique morning calls

TALKING POINT

Dapeng Bay near Shenzhen, Guang- and conflict between raccoon dogs dong province. It was only the sec- and local residents in Shanghai We must find a way to balance nature and humans ond time in 16 years that a Bryde’s demonstrated the urgent need for a whale had appeared in the bay. solution. “Why not just simply let them be?” foreseeable future, and we should both listed as “vulnerable” by the According to the book Chinese A new management system for After all, nature will reshuffle things respect their right to see wild ani- International Union for Conserva- Cetaceans, the previous sighting the country’s natural resources Yang Wanli unexpectedly, like events in the last mals and plants in the flesh,” he said. tion of Nature. was in 2005 near Sha Tau Kok in should be established, and we need ice age. I think the responsibility Jiang In December, seven alpine musk Hong Kong. to find more innovative ways to Despite all that devotion, chival- shoulders is the same as many oth- deer — classified as “endangered” While the importance of biodiver- maintain good relations between rous in the eyes of humans, the ers bear. In recent decades, the gov- on the IUCN’s Red List of Threaten- sity has become more widely under- humans and wildlife. I am pessimistic about attempts effect is actually marginal. ernment, the general populace and ed Species — were sighted in Qing- stood and also gained assistance The system should contain tai- to arrest the rapid loss of wildlife I threw this question at Jiang Xue- social groups have made combined hai’s Three-River-Source National from society as a whole, we face a lored plans on the protection of spe- species globally as a result of human long, a primatologist with the Kun- efforts and saved some wild species Park. new challenge — that of engineering cies, allied to habitat rehabilitation, activity. ming Institute of Zoology at the from the edge of extinction. Moreover, a herd of about 100 a balanced relationship between management, financial support, I believe that whatever humans Chinese Academy of Sciences. His Several times in the past three wild red deer, which are under State biodiversity and the development of related laws and regulations. do to the planet, good or bad, is part response is worth thinking about. years, infrared cameras in Qinghai protection, was observed by rangers human society. All the above may be negligible in of the natural order of things. “What scientists do is not only province have captured footage of at the park in February. During the first half of this year, the long history of evolution, but Sometimes when I interview sci- study certain wild species, but also animals unseen since the 1990s as a Similar sightings have been news reports about the migration of they are meaningful to every species entists and wildlife conservation figure out ways to protect them result of excessive hunting. reported in coastal waters. In June, a herd of wild Asian elephants that being protected and also to humans. groups who spare no efforts to pro- from extinction. After all, we will They include snow leopards and a Bryde’s whale, a Class 1 protected approached Kunming, capital of the The animals’ right to life should be tect global biodiversity, I ask myself, have many new generations in the Chinese mountain cats, which are species, was spotted by fishermen in southwestern province of Yunnan, guarded with care.