The Big Picture: Rare birds seek refuge

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It appears that the dream of preserving wetland reserves, home to the wildlife, is getting bleaker.

One endangered migratory species, the Ordos Relict Gull, has suffered the fate of human disturbances and seen its home destroyed. That’s according to He Fenqi, a research fellow at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

CGTN reporter Han Bin brings us this story of how human actions have affected nature and gives us first-hand insight from his visits to the wetland with a group of scientists.

Xinhua Photo

Quality of habitat affected

Fenqi, the first scientist who found the birds in the 1980s, attributes the fewer relict gulls seen feeding along the water today, to the quality of their habitat. In particular, their breeding habits have been impacted.

“In the past 15 years, many of the wetlands have disappeared,” Fenqi says.

Xiao Hong, research fellow at Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, explains the disappearance is caused by the drying up of water caused by man, including dams and irrigation.

Fenqi adds, the drastic reduction of nature’s reserves has forced the birds to abandon their original homes. The Ordos Relict Gull, for one, has sought refuge at a lake called Hongjian Nur, more than a hundred kilometers southeast.

That said, Fenqi opines that it is not as simple as just adding more water to the wetland, to resume the nesting and production of birds. With eco-tourism booming almost everywhere in China, there’s a risk that they could always be in danger.

What could be done?

Xinhua Photo‍

When asked, what Fenqi’s dream for this wetland reserve is, he responds: “When you look here, do you have any dream? No! Forget that!”

There is an estimated 16,000 Relict gulls in the world today, with approximately 60 percent of them inhabiting the Ordos Plateau in Northern China.

What is witnessed here with the Ordos Relict Gull could just be one of the many rare species that has been endangered.

How many more wastelands are out there that have been destroyed? Or face the risk of being wiped out from the earth? And what is being done to preserve them?