There are less than 400 of them. Can this group of "weirdos" in Taihang Mountains dominate the world again?

The towering Taihang Mountains stretch for more than 800 miles, running through Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Henan. Known as the "backbone of the world", it is also the historical habitat of the North China leopard. In the second half of the 20th century, due to the increase in human activities and the destruction of forest ecosystems, the number of North China leopards dropped sharply and was once hard to find.

The North China leopard is the only leopard subspecies unique to China among the nine leopard subspecies currently recognized in the world, so it is also called the Chinese leopard. It is mainly distributed in Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, southeastern Gansu, northern Shaanxi and other places in China. The North China leopard has dark brown spots all over its yellow fur, which looks like ancient Chinese copper coins, so it is also called the "golden leopard". It is estimated that the total number of North China leopards in my country is less than 400. It is a national first-class key protected wild animal and a rare and endangered species in the world.

File photo: North China Leopard

Shanxi Province in China is one of the provinces with the richest population resources of North China leopards. According to preliminary statistics, there are 48 stable populations and 8 concentrated distribution areas of North China leopards in Shanxi Province. As the top species in the food chain in nature, the stable survival of North China leopards can play a special role in regulating population size, stabilizing ecosystems, and maintaining ecological balance. It also indicates the integrity and stability of the local ecosystem and the high richness of biodiversity. In recent years, due to the development of villages and towns, engineering construction and other reasons, some forest areas have become relatively isolated and scattered ecosystem spaces, and the habitat of North China leopards has become fragmented. The fragmentation of habitats may lead to inbreeding and population degradation of North China leopards, and they may also cause conflicts between humans and animals when they migrate and spread outward. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish ecological corridors, restore the connectivity of North China leopard habitats, and build a home where people and animals live in harmony. Shanxi has promoted projects such as wildlife habitat restoration, ecological corridor connectivity, prey population restoration, and drinking water point construction with North China leopards as umbrella species, and protected the habitat of North China leopards from many aspects such as mountains, water, forests, and roads. Gradually realize the "two vertical and six horizontal" ecological migration corridors, namely the Taihang Mountains and Luliang Mountains as the north-south longitudinal connection corridors, and the Hengshan Mountains, Wutai Mountains-Guancen Mountains, Xizhou Mountains-Tianlong Mountains, Taiyue Mountains-Gushan Mountains, Danzhu Mountains-the southern foot of Taiyue Mountains, and Zhongtiao Mountains as the east-west horizontal connection corridors. A series of measures are aimed at establishing a network of leopard nature reserves to enhance the integrity and stability of the ecosystem with leopards as umbrella species.

The North China leopard is an important indicator species in the Taihang Mountains. Its appearance and the increasing frequency of its appearance indicate that the ecosystem continues to improve. We must protect the Taihang Mountains and the habitat of the North China leopard so that the majestic Taihang Mountains will always maintain a good ecology.

Review expert: Chen Rui, PhD, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Xinhuanet

Co-production