I Have a Safari Park

While listening to the breeder's explanation, Liu Wei observed the environment of the venue.

The stream flows and becomes a wide pond.

There are natural reeds on the edge of the pond, swaying, giving people a natural and comfortable feeling.

There was an island in the middle of the pond, and tree trunks perched on the edge of the island and the stream bank, and one end of the tree trunk was on the island and the other in the water.

The trunk retains the intricate roots, and the gaps in the roots are like a labyrinth to the otter, and they disappear when you drill into it.

There was an otter lying on the tree trunk and rubbing it. After rubbing his mouth and rubbing his cheeks, after rubbing his cheeks and rubbing his stomach, he turned over and rubbed his back.

Others slid down the tree trunks into the water like a slide.

It seems that the environment here really suits their hearts.

And Amamiya Shin's attention is on the cute appearance of the otter!

The small-clawed otter is the smallest among the thirteen species of otters in the world. It has a slender body, a body like a long gourd, a round belly and a round head, a short snout, and a long white beard. It looks very cute.

Staring fascinatedly at the otter playing with its belly exposed: "Kawaii!"

Took several pictures of the otters.

The breeder continued: "In China, there are a total of 3 species of otters recorded! They are the Eurasian otter, the Asian small-clawed otter and the smooth otter, of which the Eurasian otter is the most widely distributed, from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the southeast coast in history. , from the north to the tropical rainforest, they have their presence.

You can take a look at the comparison charts of several otters here. "

On the popular science exhibition card next to it, the body length and weight of several otters are marked from top to bottom. With the accompanying pictures, the comparison is quite intuitive.

Including some more obvious features, such as the Eurasian otter has a flat head and a round tail, while the Asian small-clawed otter has a short round head and a flat and broad tail.

A tourist asked curiously: "Since otters are so common, why have I never seen them or heard reports about them?"

The breeder smiled and said, "Then we have to talk about it from a long time ago!"

The popular science exhibition cards in the otter exhibition area are strung together in order.

The signs at the entrance of the exhibition area introduce their characteristics, first give visitors a basic understanding, introduce their history in the middle, and then introduce the reasons for their demise and the threats they are facing.

The breeder walked forward and came to the middle display board, and the tourists followed.

"'The east wind is thawed, the stinging worm begins to vibrate, the fish bears ice, and the otter sacrifices the fish.' This sentence comes from the "Book of Rites"! As early as two thousand years ago, our ancestors described and recorded the otter in the classics.

The earth began to thaw, the ice melted, the fish came up from the bottom, and the otters began to fish, laying the fish on the shore one by one. In the eyes of the ancients, it looks like an otter is offering sacrifices, which is a very strange behavior.

Rex sacrificed the fish, and then the Yu people entered Zeliang. Jackals sacrifice to beasts, and then hunt in the fields; doves turn into eagles, and then set up Weiluo; vegetation is scattered, and then enter the mountains and forests; No addiction, no eggs, no fetuses, no demons, no nests.

Seeing the behavior of otters offering fish is a signal to end the winter fishing ban, and fishermen can start fishing. You see, our ancients are actually very powerful. They understood the truth of sustainable development thousands of years ago. "

"Wow!"

"Our ancestors are so wise!"

"Taoism talks about the unity of man and nature, living in harmony with nature, Confucianism talks about compassion, benevolence and forgiveness, and our culture has this kind of gene."

The tourists were quite proud.

"Because otters are good at fishing, the ancients also helped themselves to fish by domesticating otters.

It can be said that otters played a very important role in the production and life of our ancients.

In areas where Chinese language records exist, otters are almost ubiquitous. In historical documents and local chronicles of ethnic minority areas, otters are often recorded. It can be said that otters once lived in every corner of this land. where they are found.

Here is the distribution of an otter in history restored according to ancient books, and there are county records about otters in Linhai, you can take a look. "

Tourists are eager to get over.

Liu Wei listened to the breeder's explanation, and was also interested in watching the display to see if there were otters in his hometown.

A piece of green is used on the exhibition card to indicate the distribution range of otters. With several pictures attached, it can be seen that the distribution of otters is still very wide.

In the comparison map, the distribution of otters after 2000 is represented by yellow, which suddenly changed from a large green to a few scattered pieces.

Suddenly shocked: "Why did it drop so much at once?"

The breeder's tone was a little heavier: "The otter's fur is smooth, waterproof and warm, and is considered to be the top grade for making clothing, and because otters live near the water, they are considered to be a fishery vermin and have various medicinal properties. , so it has been hunted and killed in ancient times.

However, the impact on them was not so great. Until the last century, otters encountered a large number of hunting, which may be the darkest period they have encountered for tens of thousands of years.

For example, in Hubei, more than 14,000 otters were killed in 1955 alone. In Hunan, at most 25,000 otter skins were recovered a year.

Because of this, after the establishment of our Wildlife Protection Law, several species of otters are listed as second-class protected animals, but it has not reversed their declining trend.

The most widely distributed Eurasian otter has completely disappeared in many provinces, and some provinces and regions are still distributed. The population has generally dropped by 80 to 90%, and even reached 96%-99%. And Jiang otter has not been heard from for decades.

It can be said that with the exception of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has a relatively low population density and low utilization of natural resources, otters are endangered throughout eastern and southern China, with only a few sporadic distributions.

The existence of otters that can be found in our coastal waters is actually a rare thing. "

The tourists suddenly fell silent, feeling uncomfortable, and some even sighed.

The breeder said: "Although the hunting of otters has decreased now, their populations have not recovered, and they still face many threats. For example, water pollution, the reduction of prey caused by fishing, and the construction of dams.

Among them, water pollution may be the biggest problem they face!

Otters are an indicator species that cannot survive in poor water quality.

In polluted water bodies, various heavy metals are enriched in fish and shrimp and other prey, which will cause adverse effects on otters.

In the last century, otters in many parts of Europe suffered a devastating blow due to water pollution caused by the large-scale use of DDT-containing pesticides, and the population did not recover until these pesticides were banned. "