By Rui Hu, iChongqing News

Chongqing- On March 3, in Chongqing Natural History Museum, a photo exhibition on the secrets of various wild animals and plants from the Yangtze River Regions unveiled to the public. It was part of the items of the "World Wildlife Day" in the city, and together with the 2019 World Wildlife Conservation Day campaign launching ceremony. The photography exhibit will continue until April 3rd. 

 

Experts bring you closer to the protection of wildlife

As for Mar. 3^rd is also a launch day for World Wildlife Conservation Day campaign, there is an exhibit of 200 photographs that showcase the beautiful wild lives. Through the images and commentary by volunteers, visitors can learn more about wildlife in the event and museum.

More importantly, there are 9 local and national experts from different fields have presentations to share their knowledge and experiences at the event. Some of the experts are scholars who have protected wild animals. Some of them has traveled the world but now rooted in the mountains to abide by the apes.

In order to let the public understand the significance of wildlife protection and the importance of conservation, as well as how the public could participate in, experts gave their insights. Zhang Xiwu, former vice president of China Wildlife Conservation Association and former director of the Protection Department of the State Forestry Administration, was also invited to the event to share with the audience about significances and role of setting up national parks for ecological and wildlife protection.  

A citizen who listened to the story Hoolock tian xing's struggle of survivals felt impressive. He suggested that "It is my first time to know that the road construction could harm to this wildlife and marginalize their living space. If we want to protect our nature, we must first know about nature." Ouyang Hui, the director of Chongqing Natural History Museum, after listening to his lecture in the event, a young student indicated that "There were a lot of ancient pandas in Chongqing. The current protection of pandas actually protects many other creatures, which means a lot!"

What is the current situation of wildlife in Chongqing?

Chen Yong, deputy director of the Wildlife Protection Department of the Chongqing Forestry Bureau, indicated that “Currently, the protection of wildlife in Chongqing is developing. The introduction of various protection policies and the advancement of science and technology have made wildlife`s living environment more beautiful. "

 

Bios 

• Peregrine falcon

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV programme, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph).

Peregrine falcon is a common species in the migratory raptors of Chongqing parallel ridge. It is ferocious and mainly feeds on other small and medium-sized birds. It preys on the air, uses its speed to catch up with the prey, and beats with the soles of the feet to capture the prey while others are unconscious.

• Hylidae Wuling

The Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees but are terrestrial or semiaquatic.

There are also high-value types in the scorpion, such as Hylidae Wuling. Unlike the slender body of an ordinary arboreal amphibious animal, its body is round, but it can still jump lightly between the branches and leaves. It also can climb on the castor leaves without being stabbed.

• Crested honey buzzard

The crested honey buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles, and harriers. This species is also known as the Oriental honey buzzard.

The crested honey buzzard is the main force in the migration of raptors in Chongqing's parallel ridge. Each spring, there is nearly 10,000  crested honey buzzard along the city's Jinyun Mountain, Zhongliang Mountain (Gele Mountain), Tonglu Mountain (Nanshan) and Mingyue Mountain. At the peak, the spectacular Eagle team can be seen.

•  Short-toed snake eagle

The short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards, and harriers. The genus name Circaetus is from the Ancient Greek kirkos, a type of hawk, and aetos, "eagle". The specific gallicus means "of Gaul".

The short-toed snake eagle is a large raptor in the parallel migrating raptors of Chongqing. It mainly feeds on snakes and is a new record for Chongqing in the 2015 Raptor Monitoring。

• Long-tailed Shrike

The long-tailed Shrike is fierce and has a strong and powerful mouth and claws. It is good at preying on insects, birds, and other animals, and even kills birds larger than themselves, such as cockroaches. Usually inhabit the tip of the reed, when you see the prey on the ground, they go straight to kill.

• Osprey

The osprey or more specifically the western osprey (Pandion haliaetus) — also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk — is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.

It is a rare species of migratory raptors in the parallel ridge of Chongqing. It feeds on fish and can prey on a variety of fish. It has been observed many times during the migration to catch a big fish with two claws.

 

According to statistics, there are 227 families, 1302 genera and more than 6,000 species of wild vascular plants in Chongqing. Among them, there are 9 species of key protected wild plants at the national level. There are more than 800 species of terrestrial wild vertebrates and more than 4,300 invertebrates, including 11 national first-class protected animals, including Panthera pardus, Neofelis nebulosa, Trachypithecus francoisi, Moschus berezovskii, Aquila chrysaetos, etc. There are 54 kinds of protected animals, mainly including Chrysolophus pictus, Asio otus, Naemorhedus goral, Viverridae, and etc.