Elks, herons rescued as Dongting level rises
Print Edition
Guoguo, an elk cub, was only five days old when it was found dying around an embankment of Dongting Lake, the second-largest freshwater lake in central China, days ago.
Continuous downpours have caused water levels to rise in major rivers and lakes in many parts of the country since the flood season started, posing a threat not only to people鈥檚 lives and property, but also to wild animals.
On July 5, Yang Xiaoqiang, a worker at the Dongting Lake nature reserve administration in Hunan Province, received a phone call from a local resident, reporting the cub鈥檚 situation. Yang rushed to the site and brought the elk back to a local elk and bird rescue center. The starving cub drank three bottles of fresh milk quickly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a young male deer who might lose its mother because of the floods,鈥 Yang said.
Elks once lived in the marshes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and became extinct during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) due to climate change and human activities. It was not until the 1980s that the Chinese government began importing the species, and the population of elks in the Dongting Lake region has now risen to over 200.
Natural habitat
鈥淭he habitat of elks would be inundated, and food would be difficult to find during the flood season,鈥 said Song Yucheng, an elk protection expert with the administration.
鈥淚t would have been a 鈥渟urvival of the fittest鈥 approach. However, considering the very small population of elks, we have been taking action to help the species make it through the flood season without affecting their natural habitat.鈥
Ding Ming, a volunteer with an elk protection association, often brings food, including cabbages and carrots, to locate and feed trapped wildlife around the lake.
鈥淚 was born and grew up here, and I know every branch of the lake, as well as the location of the elks,鈥 said Ding, who usually spends a week around the lake during the flood season, and guides the deer to safe highlands to escape the flooding.
Apart from elks, the rescue center also received two night herons. 鈥淣ight herons are summer migratory birds that nest at a low location. The floods engulfed their nests, so the young birds can鈥檛 find fish or shrimp, and would have eventually died from lack of food and exhaustion,鈥 said Li Zheng, who is in charge of the rescue center.
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