I Have a Safari Park

After dinner the next morning, Fang Ye held a meeting with the civilian staff to discuss the design of other display boxes. He was indeed a little busy with so many display boxes alone, and there was too much information to find.

Civilians have collected a lot of information some time ago, and they have come in handy at this time, including the original habitats of various animals, suitable temperature and food, and put forward their own ideas and opinions.

In addition to the general exhibition boxes, there are also some larger exhibition areas in the Amphibious Reptile Museum!

The two currently prepared are for Zhu Yeqing and the other for Chinese giant salamander.

They also belong to the famous and distinctive amphibians and reptiles in China. Of course, there should be some rows in the exhibition area for them.

The Chinese giant salamander is commonly known as the giant salamander. Although it is called a fish, it is not actually a fish, but the largest amphibian in existence. The largest body length can reach two meters. It is one of China's national treasures.

The earliest fossils found are 165 million years old and can be said to be living fossils of the animal kingdom! The giant panda, also known as a living fossil, is only 8 million years old.

Compared with ordinary frogs and toads, giant salamanders are much more picky about their living environment. In nature, all habitats where giant salamanders appear are dense forests with vegetation coverage as high as 80%-90%, and there must be sufficient water sources and mountain streams around. , The giant salamander needs to rely on moist skin to assist its breathing, and the dense jungle can not only block the sun, but also create a humid air environment to prevent it from suffocating due to dry skin.

Even if the adult giant salamander has the ability to climb on land, it only dares to move on the land close to the stream. Therefore, mountain streams and flowing water are the necessary conditions for the survival of the giant salamander!

In addition, the water temperature of 9-20 degrees is the most comfortable and comfortable for giant salamanders. When the water temperature is lower than 4 degrees or higher than 26 degrees, the food intake of giant salamanders will decrease, the movement tends to be sluggish, and the growth is slow.

The giant salamander is also very particular about the geology and landforms of its habitat. It likes to live in limestone areas. Under the long-term erosion of river water, many natural karst caves, dark rivers and caves with backflow water will be formed in these areas. Adult giant salamanders generally live alone. Once you identify a cave, you won't move easily.

These caves are not only the best sanctuaries for giant salamanders, where they can rest in the dark and avoid predators, and are also the back gardens for their offspring to hatch. year.

Moreover, giant salamander also has high requirements for water quality. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is clean. The water suitable for living must be clear, clean and rich in minerals. It is even higher than 5.5 mg per liter, which is close to the healthy drinking water standard for human beings.

Dense forests, moist air, suitable temperature, hidden caves, flowing river water, clean water quality, and abundant food are basically indispensable for giant salamanders.

It is precisely because of the strict requirements for the living environment that the giant salamander is also regarded as an environmental indicator creature, known as the "canary in the coal". If you can see the giant salamander in the wild, it means that the environment here is quite good, basically you can. It is called Xanadu.

However, with the increase of human activities and environmental pollution, the number of wild populations has dropped sharply, and it is already critically endangered, and is listed as a national second-class protected wild animal.

With the breakthrough of Chinese giant salamander artificial breeding technology, giant salamanders have even been put on the table, and many protected areas have also purchased young salamanders from giant salamander farms for release.

It seems that the protection situation of giant salamander is very good. In fact, a study on giant salamander in recent years shows that the Chinese giant salamander population contains at least 5 different evolutionary branches, that is, 5 different subspecies. The reintroduction has greatly destroyed the genetic diversity of giant salamanders, and wild giant salamanders may be going extinct silently.

Another typical example of the harm of genetic pollution is the hybridization of domestic yak and wild yak. ​​The genetic pollution caused by the hybridization will make the wild yak smaller in size, lose some adaptation characteristics to plateau cold tolerance and low oxygen content, and can choose to survive. The range becomes smaller, which will bring a series of effects.

Therefore, exhibiting the giant salamander is not only a display of this ancient living fossil, but also has high conservation and educational significance. It is very alarming to see the crisis facing the giant salamander.

First and foremost as an environmental indicator, giant salamanders are highly sensitive to climate change and environmental pollution that can lead to species extinction. If they go first, other species will gradually follow.

Another exhibition board about genetic pollution can be introduced to tell tourists the dangers of genetic pollution, and they cannot be released randomly! There must be scientific guidance for the release of life, otherwise it is not for good, but for evil.

The popular science exhibition card in the raccoon exhibition area in the front introduces the species invasion caused by over-release, and the combination of the two is better.

To design the exhibition area environment for giant salamander, it is natural to imitate wild mountain streams, waterfalls and pools.

The exhibition area of ​​the giant salamander is long and narrow, with a width of 2.5 meters and a length of 12 meters. A curved stream is first arranged inside. The shallowest part of the stream is 20-30 cm, and the deepest pool is one meter deep.

A layer of small pebbles is laid on the bottom of the stream, and some large pebbles are laid on top. It can be seen that the stream has washed away over the years, erasing the edges and corners of the stones, and they are round and smooth.

The water circulation system is installed to maintain the purification of the water body. The cold water system simulates the natural water temperature. The annual water temperature variation range is controlled at about 6-24 degrees, and the average annual water temperature is about 14 degrees. The temperature difference between day and night is created according to the different seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, which is more suitable for the growth of giant salamanders. Breeding, spraying, fogging, lighting systems simulate natural rainfall, morning fog and other weather.

The stream is the side of tourists, so that tourists can watch the water profile below the water level at close range. Giant salamanders are active in extremely clear and transparent water. Live in streams.

Opposite the exhibition area is a black and wet stream bank, with mountains and rocks standing, and under a dripping rock wall, there is a concave dark cave, like a mysterious cave, which can be used as the residence of giant salamanders.

The slow growth and strong shade tolerance of iris, ferns, palm bamboo and moss were selected as plants in Hunan at an altitude of about 700-1200m, scattered on the rock walls, and then placed a few pieces of sunken wood on the river bank.

The trickling water continued to drip down the rock wall, sometimes slowly and sometimes urgently, some directly fell into the water, some hit the green leaves of the ferns, the brown bamboo cast mottled shadows in the water, the giant salamander and the medaka in the extremely clear water. Swimming and playing in the water, giant salamanders will definitely live very comfortably in such an environment.

With the popular science exhibition cards on the giant salamander's habits, calls, and living conditions, tourists will also know more about the giant salamander, and further realize the importance and urgency of protecting the giant salamander.