Typhoon not just a human disaster
Print Edition
IT was two weeks ago that super typhoon Rammasun roared into southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, felling trees and ripping the roofs off houses.
Residents are now busy rebuilding their homes along the coast.
But the storm didn’t only affect humans.
Huang Jilin, who lives in Hongsha Village, saved more than 200 egrets the day the typhoon hit.
Dead and injured egrets were left scattered all around his home by the storm.
Huang buried the dead and took care of the injured, keeping them in paper boxes and feeding them small fish.
The larger egrets have been released in the forest, while the smaller ones are still being cared for, Su Haimei, Huang’s daughter-in-law, said.
Since ancient times, Chinese people have admired white egrets, celebrating them in poetry and art.
It is one of 11 endangered birds in China and thousands fly to Hongsha between February and July each year, attracting enthusiasts keen to catch a glimpse of this protected species.
Hongsha has seven breeding sites for egrets, where they rest and breed every spring and summer.
He Ruhua, who works at the National Natural Reserve of Beilun Estuary in Guangxi, is one of two people charged with guarding the forests and protecting egrets, which nest in the trees.
He said many egrets were wounded in the typhoon and some were found dead in the woods.
Many of the injured are being treated at the reserve’s base.
Chen Zicheng, 86, has been a volunteer egret protector for more than half a century, following his father’s example. His son and grandson also protect the birds.
Chen said the situation had improved since local people were made aware the egret was listed as a national protected species in 1989.
A major worry for Chen is that egrets are losing their homes as more and more trees are chopped down.
“If the birds lose their homes, how can they live here?” he said.
Injured egrets he had treated had flown back to him from time to time. “Egrets have a tactile side and understand human nature.”
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