The West Lake mandarin duck was scratched and died. It was crushed alive. It's too cruel
4hw.com.cn: Recently, the West Lake mandarin ducks have attracted everyone's attention. The West Lake is a famous scenic spot with an endless stream of tourists. Recently, the media broke out that many small mandarin ducks in the West Lake were poisoned by tourists. This year, 18 small mandarin ducks died. Let's see the details below.
On the 18th, despite the dissuasion of volunteers, a tourist grabbed mandarin ducks beside the white embankment of the West Lake for fun. On the 22nd, the reporter of Beijing Youth Daily learned from the volunteers of the West Lake mandarin duck escort that the little Mandarin Duck caught by tourists had died. Volunteers said that the West Lake mandarin ducks have been greatly affected by man-made factors. Since this year, 18 mandarin ducks have died.
Mandarin ducks in the West Lake died after being attacked by "black hands"
At more than 3 p.m. on the 18th, pan Dingrong, a member of the West Lake mandarin duck guard, was patrolling near the white embankment of the West Lake. He saw a man in black lying on the bank and grabbed a small mandarin duck.
Pan Dingrong told the Beiqing daily that there was a pupil volunteer around the man at that time. He had repeatedly dissuaded the other party from catching mandarin ducks, but the other party ignored it. After taking the picture of the man catching the mandarin duck, pan Dingrong also ran forward to stop it. At this time, the man put the little Mandarin Duck back into the lake. Before leaving, pan Dingrong heard the other party say, 'I just want to catch it and play'.
The caught little Mandarin Duck has just been born for more than ten days and is only the size of a person's palm. Since the evening of the 18th, the members of the escort team have never seen the little Mandarin Duck again. It is basically certain that it has unfortunately died. " Like this little Mandarin Duck, if people make a little effort, they may crush it to death '.
Affected by human activities, 18 mandarin ducks have died this year
From the first wild mandarin ducks in the West Lake in 2005 to more than 70 mandarin ducks in nine nests in 2019, volunteers have been trying to leave such beautiful creatures for the West Lake.
However, living in the West Lake scenic spot with many tourists, mandarin ducks are still greatly affected by human activities. Pan Dingrong told reporters that since this year, 18 mandarin ducks have died, and human injury is one of the important reasons.
According to pan Dingrong, the biggest impact of humans on mandarin ducks is feeding. Mandarin ducks mainly live in Lixi lake, a large number of lotus ponds north of Baidi. The insects, fish and shrimp beside the lotus pond are enough for them to eat. But tourists still like to feed mandarin ducks. Pan Dingrong told reporters that volunteers often found the bodies of mandarin ducks floating on the lake, some with big stomachs, 'this is what tourists feed too much to die', pan Dingrong said. In addition, the feeding of tourists will also make mandarin ducks like close relatives. When they see tourists waving, they will swim there, which also provides an opportunity for some 'black hands'.
In 2007, the wild bird branch of Zhejiang Wildlife Protection Association initiated the establishment of mandarin duck protection action, and organized volunteers to participate in Mandarin Duck protection every year. Pan Dingrong told the Beiqing daily that the volunteers will not only dissuade tourists who feed and catch mandarin ducks, but also drive away stray animals near the lake area to prevent them from attacking mandarin ducks.
With the efforts of volunteers, the number of mandarin ducks in the West Lake has increased significantly. However, due to the limited manpower of volunteers and the wide range of activities of mandarin ducks, some man-made sabotage activities are still impossible to prevent.
We hope to set up warning signs for publicity and warning
Mandarin duck is a national second-class protected animal, but many tourists don't understand it. Pan Dingrong told the Beiqing daily that in the process of persuasion, some tourists thought it was a wild duck and thought it didn't matter to feed or catch it for fun. " At the same time, we also suggested to the West Lake Management Committee that more warning signs should be set up to remind tourists and publicize some bird protection knowledge.
On the 22nd, the staff of Yuemiao Management Office of the West Lake scenic spot management committee told reporters that patrol teams patrol around the West Lake every day. If tourists catch mandarin ducks, they will dissuade them. According to the staff member, volunteers put forward suggestions for setting up warning signs, and they will consider them comprehensively.