The Yangtze River is dry, and the Yangtze River sturgeon declared extinct in the wild appeared in Hubei? Are there still wild South China tigers?
Yangtze River Sturgeon Reappears
In 2022, under the raging global high temperature, there are signs of rivers drying up in many places, and even parts of the Yangtze River have experienced droughts . Drought not only brought people to think about nature, but also some unexpected discoveries. The shape and appearance of the Yangtze River sturgeon are the bottles and jars under the river, and things similar to cultural relics will arouse heated discussions from time to time. But the most surprising thing in the Yangtze region is the Yangtze sturgeon, which has been declared extinct in the wild. Why did the Yangtze sturgeon, which was declared extinct in the wild in July 2022, suddenly appear today, and are there any signs? In fact, the Yangtze sturgeon was found during the drought and is not in conflict with extinction in the wild. The Yangtze sturgeon was declared extinct in the wild around 2000. At that time, many experts believed that the Yangtze sturgeon had reached a limit of natural survival. Even a group of Yangtze sturgeons that reproduced naturally were affected by overfishing and water pollution, and eventually the survival of the entire population collapsed and faced extinction in the wild. The Yangtze River sturgeon waiting to be rescued In the past few years, there has been very little news about the Yangtze River sturgeon. According to the information on the endangered animal protection list, 26 species of sturgeon in the world are on the verge of extinction. As a species endemic to the Yangtze River, the Yangtze sturgeon has hardly been reported in the past. The endangered species report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources pointed out that sturgeon worldwide faces a variety of threats, mainly the illegal trade of wild caviar and fish meat. Secondly, dams blocked their migratory routes. In addition, sand mining operations in the river channels also seriously affected the spawning environment of sturgeons, which eventually led to the loss of their habitats. As far as the Yangtze River Basin is concerned, there are more than 4,300 kinds of aquatic animals, including more than 400 kinds of fish, and more than 170 kinds of fish unique to the Yangtze River. Dam interception has a huge impact on the survival of sturgeon. In recent years, my country has continued to increase protection of the Yangtze River Basin, such as the Chinese sturgeon rescue plan, the Yangtze finless porpoise rescue plan, and the fishing ban period and artificial breeding are also ways to save these fish. The Yangtze sturgeon was once the most common fish in the Yangtze River system, and it mainly emerged from the connection of rivers and some larger tributaries to the Yangtze River system. In the late 20th century, the population of the Yangtze River sturgeon dwindled sharply and has disappeared in the lower reaches. The main reasons are overfishing and dam construction. Because this part of the water conservancy facilities hinder their movement along the river, they can only move upstream, thus leading to fragmentation and degradation of their habitats. The stamps issued to commemorate the sturgeon in the Yangtze River have been changed because of the changes in the living environment, and the living situation of the sturgeon in the Yangtze River has been further changed. Coupled with the impact of human activities brought about by shipping in the Yangtze River and population migration, the Yangtze River sturgeon eventually stopped natural breeding in the wild. Protection of sturgeon
But why did the Yangtze sturgeon, which was pronounced extinct in the wild, reappeared in people's field of vision soon after? Sturgeon rescue work Before talking about this issue, let's take a look at a question, what is extinction in the wild? Extinction in the wild refers to when a species or subspecies is known to survive only in captivity or captivity. Or when the species needs to be released into the wild after a period of time before it can recover to the place where it existed in history, then the species will be judged as extinct in the wild. Reintroductions are a solution to restoring populations of species that are extinct in the wild. It requires careful consideration and the reintroduction of species into nature. In general, suitable individuals can be selected from subspecies in captivity or elsewhere for wild release. The situation of Chinese sturgeon is also not good. In addition to being suitable for species that are already extinct in the wild, some endangered species can also rely on this method for species protection and improve the survival probability of the population in the wild. While doing so would allow for the release of species that are already extinct in the wild, it would be very difficult in practice. What needs to be understood is that reintroduction is not what we think. When a fish is dropped in the water, the animals can live well on their own when they are released into the wild. In fact, after long-term artificial captivity or rearing, the reintroduced animals will have a decline in their ability to survive in the wild. Even if its ecological environment has been restored, it is no exception, the main reason is that they have lacked the necessary survival skills. Wild release is not an easy job. Furthermore, these survival skills, which are usually taught by parents, have been lost in captivity. The last point is that captive or reared animals largely lack genetic diversity and are therefore not as robust against disease as wild populations. So now looking back at the sturgeon that appeared in the Yangtze River, it is clear that they are wild fish that have been artificially farmed and returned to nature. Therefore, when we know this kind of news, we will see that law enforcement officers will release the Yangtze sturgeon back to the Yangtze River as soon as possible. The Yangtze sturgeon, which has been extinct in the wild due to environmental changes, can still get a chance to survive under the conditions of captivity. Compared with white sturgeon and Chinese sturgeon, the performance of Yangtze sturgeon is much better. The Yangtze sturgeon does not need to migrate to the sea, as long as a suitable artificial environment can be met, the Yangtze sturgeon can survive in the artificial farm. Since 1976, fish farms in Chongqing have selected a batch of suitable wild Yangtze sturgeon for breeding through wild fishing. As of 2018, the Yangtze River sturgeon has completed three generations of artificial breeding. But it is still too early to celebrate. Although we have cultivated a large number of Yangtze sturgeon, the wild population of Yangtze sturgeon has not increased, but has entered a state of wild extinction. The Yangtze River sturgeon specimens preserved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences have in the past more than 7 million sturgeons in artificial breeding. Although this number seems to be very large, considering the actual living conditions of the Yangtze River sturgeon and the breeding situation in the wild, it is obvious that they It also has to adapt to the wild environment in order to survive. Compared with the reintroduction of foreign countries in the past, if the Yangtze River sturgeon is to be well reproduced in the wild, at least tens of millions of sturgeons must be prepared in the wild to achieve initial results. Obviously, this is not a task that can be completed in a day or two, so the Yangtze sturgeon discovered this time shows that they are gradually adapting to the surrounding environment, which is good news for us. The Yangtze River sturgeon that gradually appeared in people's field of vision The possibility of wild South China tiger
is also a wild extinct animal. Can a similar example refer to the Yangtze River sturgeon's possibility? What about the case? Such as wild South China tigers. As a country with the largest number of tiger species, China used to have five different types of tigers living in the wild in China. South China tigers, once wild tigers, are widely distributed in East China, Central China, South China and other regions. Compared with other tigers, the South China tiger is not the largest, and the larger ones include the Bengal tiger and the Siberian tiger. In the 1950s in China, due to the lack of awareness of protection, many regions had a wrong understanding of tigers. South China tigers bred at the Shanghai Zoo have thus been hunted in large numbers in the wild, and their fur is very popular in the market. Therefore, under the condition of imperfect relevant laws and regulations, the number of South China tigers in China has dropped rapidly from more than 4,000 in the early 1950s to more than 400. Despite the subsequent promulgation of relevant protection regulations, South China tigers were still hunted by humans until 1994, when the last wild South China tiger was hunted. Since then, no matter how much people look for it, they have been unable to spy on the wild South China tiger. The early South China tigers were easy to be hunted. Fortunately, domestic South China tiger breeding began in the 1950s. However, during this period, it was mainly for the needs of zoo operation and some research needs, and a lot of artificial conservation was not carried out. Later, in order to change the extinction of South China tigers in the wild, my country began to establish relevant organizations to breed them. Since 2001, the rescue of South China tigers has been organized by the domestic forestry bureau and wildlife research center. After that, various investigations were carried out in Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places, and many places were evaluated as suitable for the survival of South China tigers. Judging from the current situation, although there is no exact figure for the breeding of South China tigers in China, the protection of wild tigers in China has been well completed. The related wild training is still in progress, so far there is not much news. After all, tigers, unlike fish, can reproduce in large numbers, and as apex predators, their rewilding and reintroduction require more and more complex preparations. At present, the most important thing is to expand the number of artificial breeding. There is still a long way to save wild South China tigers in the future, but a series of animal protection work such as the Yangtze River sturgeon has given us a lot of confidence. We believe that in the future reintroduction of animals, we can see more news of the return of wild animals.