Caring for Cranes Meticulously
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
Caring for Cranes Meticulously
March 17, 2023[Xinhua/Cao Mengyao] |
Chen Guanghui is a resident of Zhaoyang, a district in Zhaotong, a city in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Given her meticulous care of the cranes during the past two decades, Chen has established close relations with black-necked cranes, in Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve (in Zhaoyang).
Dashanbao has the largest number of black-necked cranes per unit area among China's nature reserves. Dashanbao provides a wintering home and a migration stop for the cranes on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The black-necked crane, a species of wildlife under special State protection, is referred to as the "bird as precious as the giant panda." The crane is also an endangered species in the world.
"During the early 1990s, my mother-in-law began feeding black-necked cranes in Dashanbao. In 2003, I picked up the 'baton' (of taking care of the cranes) from her," recalls Chen.
Despite the passage of time, she remembers how she eagerly explored ways to get close to the cranes, especially when she began feeding the birds. At first, the "canny" animals kept her at a distance, and they did not eat the food she offered them. "I tried to interact with the cranes by singing folk songs and speaking our local dialect to them, but all my efforts were in vain. Eventually, I found the key to the problem — I whistled to imitate crane's cries, and I fed them at regular hours. Gradually, the cranes grew intimate with me," recalls Chen.
During the cranes' wintering season, Chen counts the number of the birds (in the reserve), and she feeds them every day, regardless if it is rainy, windy or snowy. She is a doctor, who treats sick and/or injured cranes. She is also a guard, who dissuades tourists from "breaking into" the cranes' habitat. "As I treat the cranes as if they were members of my family, I feel empty every time the birds fly away from the reserve," says Chen. "When I'm too old to take care of the cranes, I will pass on my voluntary work (of caring for the birds) to my son."
As Dashanbao has established a food base (for the cranes), and has adopted effective measures to enhance wetland conservation and restoration, the number of cranes wintering on the reserve has increased, year by year, over the past few years. As of November 27, 2022, some 2,260 black-necked cranes had arrived in the reserve for winter, setting a record (in terms of the number of yearly wintering cranes on the reserve) since Dashanbao was established in 1990. The reserve has become the ideal home for wintering black-necked cranes.
(Source: Xinhua/Women of China English Monthly February 2023 issue)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- People Enjoy Blooming Tulips in Jinan, East...
- Flowers Bloom Across China in Spring
Special Coverage
Related articles
Student fatally shot, suspect detained at Georgia's Kennesaw State University
ATLANTA (AP) — Officials at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University say a student was killed in a weeken2024-05-21Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist reveal how her job impacted their marriage
Golden Bachelor couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist were still contending with one major issue that2024-05-21ECB rate cuts remain elusive as inflation pressure wanes
FRANKFURT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided at a rate-setting2024-05-21Amazon removed Just Walk Out from many of its own stores but wants to sell the system to others
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon wants the public and - especially other businesses - to know it’s not giving2024-05-21Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants
Red Lobster, the casual dining chain that brought seafood to the masses with inventions like popcorn2024-05-21Dodgers legend Carl Erskine dies at 97... the last surviving member of Brooklyn's 'Boys Of Summer'
Carl Erskine, the famed Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher and last surviving member of the famed 'Boys of Sum2024-05-21
atest comment