China News Service, Xinjiang Hot Springs, November 11 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang's "Northern Salamander Mother": Sticking to the No Man's Land for 5 Years to Protect the "Critically Endangered" Ancient Elves

Written by Gou Jipeng

At the beginning of November, starting from the county seat of Hot Spring County, Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, the car drove in the Sulu Bezhen Valley, and the snow-covered Alatau Mountain in the north looked like a row of yurts from a distance; The Bezhentao Mountain in the south is relatively gentle, the grass and trees at the foot of the mountain are sparse, and the cattle and sheep are herded.

The place where the two mountains are enclosed is the hot spring Xinjiang Northern Salamander National Nature Reserve. When the reporter arrived at the gate of the reserve, Donghua, a 67-year-old ranger, was greeted on a motorcycle, and she was called the "mother of the northern salamander".

Donghua, a 67-year-old ranger, has been working in the hot springs Xinjiang Northern Salamander National Nature Reserve for 20 years. On November 11, she inspected the situation of the Xinjiang northern salamander in the reserve. Photo by Gou Jipeng

The Xinjiang northern salamander, also known as the Central Asian northern salamander, is a relict species that dates back about 3 million years. The Sulu Bezhen Valley in the west of Hot Spring County, with its dense springs, streams and verdant vegetation, is an ideal habitat for the northern salamander in Xinjiang.

The Xinjiang northern salamander was once on the verge of extinction due to its weak natural survival ability, coupled with the influence of human activities and natural conditions, and was listed as a "critically endangered" species in the Red Book of Endangered Animals of China. In order to protect the Xinjiang northern salamander, the Xinjiang Northern Salamander Nature Reserve was established in the above area in 1997 and promoted to a national nature reserve in 2017.

Born into a local Mongolian herder family, Donghua became a grassroots ranger in the reserve in 2002 and has been doing so for 21 years. "My affection for Xinjiang northern salamanders is getting deeper and deeper, and they are like my children, so I am reluctant to leave." She said.

In the valley, a stream flows through the shelter of winter flowers in the reserve. She carefully flipped up a rock, and a Xinjiang northern salamander swam out, with a flat head with a pair of protruding eyes, a slightly cylindrical torso, and a flattened and erect tail. "Xinjiang northern salamanders begin to hibernate in mid-November every year, and gradually release their hibernation in April of the following year." Donghua told reporters that during this time, she had to patrol the reserve every day to ensure that it went into hibernation smoothly.

In mid-April every year, as the temperature rises and the ice and snow melt, a large number of herders who retreat to the mountains in winter move back to pastures, and cattle and sheep sometimes mistakenly enter the reserve, which not only brings damage to the environment of the reserve, but also directly harms the Xinjiang northern salamander hiding under the rocks. Driving these cattle and sheep is one of the daily patrols of Donghua, riding motorcycles where the road is easy to walk, and riding horses where it is not easy to walk.

"Now that grazing has been banned in the reserve, fences have been put up all around, and the threat of cattle and sheep has been reduced a lot." Donghua said that a remote microwave video surveillance system has also been used in the reserve, an ecological monitoring and management system has been built, and modern scientific and technological means are used to protect the Xinjiang northern salamander.

According to Ji Xiaowei, director of the management station of Xinjiang Northern Salamander National Nature Reserve, in recent years, the management station has established a set of scientific, perfect and standardized scientific research and monitoring systems for the protection and exploration of northern salamanders, and the protection is more "scientific and technological".

Recently, the reporter walked into the Xinjiang Northern Salamander Scientific Research and Education Center in Hot Spring County and saw that some tourists were observing the live Xinjiang Northern Salamander. "It has the functions of science popularization, research, publicity, and education, so as to avoid people disturbing the Xinjiang northern salamander by visiting the reserve." Ji Xiaowei said that the center also has an artificial incubation exhibition room for Xinjiang northern salamanders, which plays an important role in the research and population recovery of Xinjiang northern salamanders.

In recent years, the disturbance of human activities in the reserve has been effectively controlled, the shrinkage trend of wetland area has been effectively curbed, the degradation of meadow vegetation has been effectively suppressed, and the wild population of northern salamanders in Xinjiang has shown a good trend of steady increase, from about 2015,1700 in 3000 to more than <>,<> at present.

"I'm used to being with the northern salamander, and as long as I can walk, I'll stick to it." After that, Winter Flower began to patrol the no-man's land as usual, and for twenty-one years, as her name suggests, like a "flower blooming in winter", tenacious. (ENDS)