Desert cats are rare wild animals that live in nature and are unique to China, and are only distributed in a small part of the plateau in the northwest of the continent. Menyuan County, located in the Qinghai area of Qilian Mountain National Park, is one of the important distribution areas of desert cats.
Recently, the candidate area of Qilian Mountain National Park and the School of Life Sciences of Peking University have launched a field survey of desert cats, which is also the first comprehensive field study of desert cats in mainland China.
As a cat endemic to the mainland, the desert cat has been known for its "mystery" since it was first scientifically discovered and named. They are diurnal and nocturnal, alert by nature, and strictly avoid head-on encounters with humans. Even in areas with high density, very few people can see a desert cat in the wild, so that even if they live next to each other, people know little about the desert cat that is close at hand, and there is a large "desert" gap in the field of scientific research.
濒危荒圜猫
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: Since this species was first scientifically described in the 19th century, there has been a serious lack of understanding about its taxonomic status, distribution status, and survival status of wild populations.
The typical habitat of desert cats, which are national first-class key protected wild animals, is not the "desert" in their name, but an area with rich ecological resources such as plateau mountains and alpine meadows, but the area of this area is very limited.
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: According to the available data, the distribution range of desert cats in our country is quite narrow, mainly distributed in a very small area from northern Sichuan to eastern Qinghai and Gansu. Compared to other wild animals, its range and population are very small, and its endangered status in the wild is relatively high.
Farmland Guards
In addition to the use of traditional monitoring equipment - infrared cameras, the scientific research team has introduced a number of new technologies to tailor a set of monitoring and research programs for desert cats.
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: We used a combination of infrared cameras, satellite positioning and tracking, and fecal DNA analysis to study the range, movement patterns, and diet composition of desert cats from different perspectives.
Compared with other wild animals, the distribution area of desert cats is small, but it also spans the three provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu.
In this long and narrow area, the research team only chose Menyuan County in the Qinghai area of Qilian Mountain National Park.
According to experts, first of all, the Qinghai area of Qilian Mountain National Park is a very important and high-quality habitat for desert cats, and it is a prerequisite for targeted monitoring and investigation of target species.
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: At the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains, at the junction of shallow mountain shrubs and farmland, it is a particularly high-quality desert cat habitat. Through monitoring, we found that the population and population density of desert cats in this place are quite high.
The area inhabited by desert cats is not only an inaccessible wilderness, but also a patch of farmland with abundant products and transportation. The desert cats that live here are not only predators at the top of the food chain in the natural ecosystem, but also guardians of human food.
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: In such an environment, the main food sources of desert cats are rodents represented by moles and some small mammals represented by pikas. And these two animals, in the farmland ecosystem and some afforestation land, they bring a certain amount of damage and pressure to the local area. Therefore, desert cats, as their natural enemies, can have a positive effect on agricultural production activities, as well as afforestation and forest protection activities.
In fact, the residents living in the surrounding area can hardly feel the existence of the desert cat as a "farmland guard", and only from the infrared cameras placed around the farmland can you see the picture of the desert cat dragging children and girls and playing in the fields. Humans and desert cats are interdependent and safe in a stable and orderly ecosystem, which has become an excellent example for the scientific research team to explore the harmonious coexistence of humans and wild animals.
Li Sheng, Researcher, School of Life Sciences, Peking University: Our current results also found that in such an ecosystem, it is a particularly harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and such a system can develop and coexist in harmony.
"Stealing chickens and cats" became "experimental cats"
The desert cat is timid and vigilant, away from the crowd, is it that we don't have the opportunity to approach it and observe it? Recently, the desert cat has appeared in front of people's eyes in an unexpected way.
The cat in front of me with pale yellow fur, curled up, and extremely resistant to people approaching is a desert cat that usually only exists in infrared cameras, and the reason why it appeared in the current animal rescue station is not because of illness and injury, but because of a mistake in the operation of "stealing chickens" in the house, and locked itself in the chicken coop. After being captured and rescued, it was temporarily placed here. After some discussion and approval, the "chicken stealing cat" became an "experimental cat".
Scientists have thoroughly examined it, confirmed that there are no health problems, and are ready to release it back into the wild. The researchers first fixed the body of the desert cat and wore a satellite positioning tracking collar, and the whole operation process was very fast without a trace of delay.
Rangren Dorje, Director of the Office of the Qinghai Provincial Administration of Qilian Mountain National Park: This desert cat is a lone cat near a farmer's house. After the ambulance personnel went to the rescue, the conditions for release have been met, and this will be the 11th desert cat released with a collar.
Li Sheng, a researcher at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University: For the physical Baoding of the entire desert cat, we need to shorten the processing time as much as possible, and try to control the entire processing and collar wearing within five minutes or even less. After processing, we put the desert cat in the operating cage as soon as possible and pulled it to the release site.
An important step after fixation is weighing. The desert cat seen up close is generally indistinguishable from that of a domestic cat, except for a more wild and wary look, a signature tuft of fur on the tip of the ear, and a ring-like black stripe on the tail.
In view of the desert cat's history of "stealing chickens", the researchers chose a new habitat for the desert cat that is rich in wild prey resources and far away from human villages. After arriving at the destination, the staff conducted a final inspection of the surroundings and the cage, and after confirming that it was safe and normal, opened the cage door and released the desert cat that had been in the cage for a long time.
This desert cat, which only used physical Baoding, only after a little temptation after getting out of the cage, immediately rushed to the mountain in front of him, crossed the road, and hid into the bush jungle by the river beach.
Rangren Dorje, Director of the Office of Qinghai Provincial Administration of Qilian Mountain National Park: This release can be said to be an exploration, and it can also be said to be the release of rescue desert cats. For example, the range of activities of desert cats has been closely connected and in contact with the living areas of ordinary people, so let's see if the released wild animals can return to the wild normally, so as to provide an exploration mode for solving the harmonious coexistence of humans and animals.
Source: CCTV