Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Lifestyle
    Home / Lifestyle / People

    Cameras discover secrets of Mangshan

    Infrared monitors capture footage of elusive musk deer in Hunan reserve

    By Chen Liang in Yizhang, Hunan | China Daily | Updated: 2025-06-02 09:11
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    Grassroots expert

    Nestled on the northern slope of the Nanling Mountains, spanning Hunan and Guangdong provinces, the Mangshan reserve in Yizhang county was designated as a provincial nature reserve in 1984 and upgraded to a national nature reserve in 1994.

    In 1989, Chen Yuanhui, a ranger at the reserve, made a groundbreaking discovery alongside Zhao Ermi, a distinguished herpetologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by identifying the Mangshan pit viper as a distinct species. With a global population of fewer than 500, the viper has become a flagship species for Mangshan.

    Due to his dedicated conservation efforts and extensive research on venomous snakes, Chen Yuanhui has become the first and most renowned grassroots expert from the reserve, known as "Dr Snake". In recognition of his contributions, the reserve's management bureau erected a statue in his honor at the Mangshan National Forest Park, a part of the reserve.

    Although Chen Yuanhui retired in 2009, his legacy lives on through a new generation of grassroots conservationists in Mangshan, with Chen Desheng among those carrying forward his invaluable work.

    Chen Desheng (middle) sets up an infrared camera in the Mangshan reserve together with two colleagues. [Photo provided to China Daily]

    When he started working with the Mangshan reserve in 1989, he was a recent college graduate with a degree in metallurgy.

    "The reserve's precursor was a forest farm that also housed a metallurgical plant as its production facility," Chen Desheng, 55, told China Daily.

    The plant, however, ceased operations in 2003. Following the plant's closure, Chen Desheng was reassigned to the reserve's Xiangsikeng patrol station in 2005. Transitioning into the role of a forest ranger, he assumed responsibilities for conducting daily patrols and monitoring wildlife activities.

    "The challenge was there and I had to learn from scratch," he said.

    The positive thing is that the reserve, with an area of nearly 20,000 hectares, has long been renowned for its abundant biodiversity, attracting researchers from diverse fields for various surveys.

    Often serving as an assistant, Chen Desheng had the invaluable opportunity to learn alongside experts.

    He honed his skills in identifying wild plants, amphibians, reptiles and bird-watching, while actively monitoring amphibians with Chen Jun, head of the Xiangsikeng station since 2014.

    In 2017, the reserve collaborated with Hunan Normal University to initiate an infrared camera project. Dividing the reserve into over 100 grids, each covering one square kilometer, the project aimed to monitor wildlife inhabiting the area.

    Wang Bin, an assistant professor from the university's life science college, and his students guided reserve rangers in setting up infrared cameras across the grids to commence wildlife monitoring.

    "At the peak, there were more than 100 infrared cameras working in the wild," Chen Desheng said. "At present, there are about 60 cameras on the mountains."

    Chen Desheng, leveraging his engineering background, swiftly mastered camera setup, battery replacement and data retrieval, gradually assuming a pivotal role leading the survey. He shouldered the primary responsibility for fieldwork with the camera.

    "That means a lot of hard work," he said.

    Every four to five months, accompanied by two patrolmen, Chen Desheng visited each camera site, ensuring its functionality and collecting digital cards.

    "We could only visit two remote sites, or four to five nearby sites, in a day," he explained. He needs to visit all of the camera sites at least twice in a year.

    In a wildlife and plant identification competition organized by the provincial forestry department for rangers in Hunan, Chen Desheng clinched third prize for the Mangshan reserve. His expertise in camera-trapping surveys led to his transition to the reserve's science and public education department in 2020.

    |<< Previous 1 2 3 4 Next   >>|
    Most Popular
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    熟妇人妻无码中文字幕| 性无码专区一色吊丝中文字幕| YW尤物AV无码国产在线观看 | 寂寞少妇做spa按摩无码| 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕 | 无码精品久久久天天影视| 中文字幕日韩一区二区三区不卡| 岛国av无码免费无禁网| 无码孕妇孕交在线观看| 日韩av无码免费播放| 日韩中文在线视频| 亚洲不卡无码av中文字幕| 成人无码一区二区三区| 无套中出丰满人妻无码| 自慰无码一区二区三区| 久久亚洲AV无码精品色午夜| 日本免费中文字幕| 人妻无码中文久久久久专区| 佐藤遥希在线播放一二区| 蜜臀AV无码国产精品色午夜麻豆| 久久久久久人妻无码| 色窝窝无码一区二区三区| 亚洲AV无码久久精品蜜桃| 曰批全过程免费视频在线观看无码 | 久本草在线中文字幕亚洲欧美| 精品人妻系列无码天堂| 无码国产精品一区二区免费式芒果 | 忘忧草在线社区WWW中国中文 | 久久久久无码精品| 久久精品无码免费不卡| 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码 | 亚洲AⅤ永久无码精品AA| 国产精品无码专区在线观看| mm1313亚洲国产精品无码试看| 久久国产精品无码网站| 人妻无码精品久久亚瑟影视| 亚洲Av无码国产情品久久| 熟妇人妻中文a∨无码| 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久不卡 | 一本本月无码-| 亚洲日产无码中文字幕|