A Dream for a Better World

Aye-aye is named because of its long fingers as well as toes. Aye-aye is similar with big mouse with body length up to 36mm to 44mm. The tail of aye-aye is longer than that of its body about 50mm to 60mm. The weight of aye-aye is 2kg. Aye-aye has long and thick body hairs which are 10mm long. Aye-aye possesses big ears and it only has 20 pieces of tooth whose structure is like those of mouse. In addition, legs of aye-aye are longer than its arms. Aye-ayes mainly perch upon big branches or trunks of trees of tropical rainforest and they build nests in tree holes as well as branches. At present, the tiny monkey has been traced in the costal forest of east part of Madagascar. Aye-ayes like eating insects, cranes, coco and mango. If fed by human beings, the rare and precious animal also eats banana, egg as well as jujube. When the animal gets food, it always knocks tree bark and gets close to it to hear whether there are worms or not. Aye-aye usually comes out at night along or in couple. Aye-aye looks differently from other animals. It looks like big mouse but when it jumps, it is similar with kangaroo. Reproductive peak for the animal focuses in February and March and aye-ayes produce babies every two or three years. In addition, they can only produce one baby one time.
Aye-aye is a kind of animal which could help to keep the ecological balance of forest. Even so, it is considered as the ominous animal by local people in Madagascar because its wow is quite nasty. Aye-aye wows crisply and it hears like that it cries. In addition, yellow eyeballs of aye-aye could give out mysterious glow at night, which looks like a dreadful ghost. Therefore, local people think that if aye-aye jumps onto their body, death would come to them. In such case, it is impossible for local people to be friendly to the animal and once they see aye-aye, they would kill it without any hesitation. What is more, people also press dead aye-ayes against stakes so as to drive the misfortune away. As human beings have killed precious aye-ayes in a large number, the quantity of the animal has decreased rapidly. In addition, about 1500 years later, people from other regions, for example, Indonesia, arrived in the area and started to cut down trees squirrelly. Vast forest became farmlands as well as ranches and the acreage of forest reduced less than 20% of the original forest before degradation. Consequently, ideal habitat for wildlife including aye-aye disappeared. Until 1960s, people hardly found the track of aye-aye. In the year 1966, two biologists from France at last successfully collected 9 aye-ayes which were put on an island 5km away from northeast part of Madagascar. Afterwards, people tried to find out more aye-ayes but unfortunately, searching work ended up in vain. Nowadays, people could only see the precious animal in some zoos.

Silver gibbon is the “aerial acrobat” as well as “singer” among all animals. Silver gibbon has small size in shape and as it stands up, the body length is no more than 1m. However, its forelimb is developed and when it spreads up the two arms, the distance between them is up to about 1.5m. So as it stands up, the two arms could almost touch the ground. Flexible arms as well as hands in hook shape can help silver gibbon to pass through forests smoothly. Both male silver gibbons and female ones have silver or grey hairs and black headgear. In addition, some white hairs could be found near to eyebrows as well as chin. The weight of male silver gibbons ranges from 5.3kg to 9.6kg while female ones are lighter with the weight up to 5kg to 7kg. Nearly all behaviors of silver gibbons occur in trees including hunting for food, playing, rest, pursuing a life partner, reproduction and feeding pups etc. Silver gibbons are able to hang themselves by one arm and move ahead like playing on a swing. The animal could move about 3m one time in such way and it also can move 8m to 9m continuously. Female silver gibbons often hold newly-born babies against their chest and pass through the forest in fast pace. Like flying birds, their action is flexible, natural, relaxed, beautiful as well as soul-stirring. There is a laryngeal sac in the throat of silver gibbons. So when it wows, the laryngeal sac will be bloated and the sound given out is quite resonant. Silver gibbon is therefore called “singer”. Singing of silver gibbons can help them communicate with each other and prevent being attacked by enemies. However, the singing also brings misfortune to them at the same time because hunters can easily trace them from it. Silver gibbon is a kind of animal which is most guided by feelings. When their peers are sick or dead, they will not sing for some time.
Silver gibbons mainly live in tropical and subtropical rainforests and feed on leaves, fruits and flowers etc. Silver gibbons scatter in Java. As the population has grown fast in the region, vast rainforest have disappeared rapidly. At present, only 4% of habitat for silver gibbons is still remained. There are more than 1000 silver gibbons living in the Gununghalimun National Park. But in other areas, silver gibbon survives in a small quantity. According to some statistics, there are no more than 200 wild silver gibbons in the world. Decreasing of silver gibbons can be attributed to both natural and social reasons. The most important factor is forest degradation. People have destroyed vast forest on which silver gibbons live. To date, vast forest degradation still has not been restricted. People’s hunting has also caused reduction of silver gibbons. In addition, silver gibbons fragmented scatter so inbreeding is very common. In such case, the animal has become weak with poor-quality reproduction. Climate changes also pose some bad effects on their survival. At present, people are taking measures to protect the species. Otherwise, they will be extinct very soon.

Blood pheasant has various names. In Gansu province of China, people call it “green chick” due to its green chest and wings. As its feathers are like willow, it is named “willow chick”. Blood pheasant mainly perches upon pine and spruce forest, people call it “pine chick”. The red of blood pheasant is red, therefore, it has obtained another name called “red-leg chick” which is the most common name for the animal. Blood pheasant is not a big animal and it weighs about 500g. blood pheasant is similar with quail. Both its face and legs are scarlet. Male blood pheasants and female ones have obvious differences on outlook. Female blood pheasants have dark and single brown of the body and their chests are yellow. Feathers of male blood pheasants are grey and their longest tail feather is crimson. Feathers of waist and tail of male blood pheasants are green.
People could trace blood pheasant in northeast part of India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, northwest part of Myanmar as well as Qinghai-Tibet plateau, Qilian Mountain and Qinling Mountain of China. Blood pheasants live in cold mountainous forest and shrub with altitude ranging from 2000m to 4500m. Blood pheasants like mixed coniferous and broadleaf forest with various trees such as birch, red birch, aspen blood pheasant, mountain willow, fir and bamboo etc. Blood pheasants mainly feed on plants and sometimes they also eat small insects. According to some statistics, blood pheasants live on more than 90 plants and their recipe changes as seasons alternate. In spring and winter, blood pheasants eat leaves, buds and inflorescence of poplar, birch and pine trees etc. In summer and autumn, they feed on leaves, seeds and fruits etc of rock pod vegetables, raspberries and buttercup etc.
At present, blood pheasant has been categorized as an animal under China’s level two protection and we can see that existence of blood pheasant is in trouble. From April to May in 1984, people made a survey and found that the distribution density of blood pheasants in Sichuan was 0.66 per hectare and 0.01 to 0.13 couple per hectare in Taibai Mountain. In the year 1981, the average distribution density of blood pheasants in summer was 0.04 per hectare and 0.06 per hectare in winter, according to an investigation in Qilian Mountain of Qinghai province. From May to June in 1984, people made a survey in Qilian Mountain of Gansu province and the average distribution density of blood pheasants was 0.17 per hectare. In addition, they also found that the quantity of the rare animal in different areas was uneven. In fact, the quantity of blood pheasants has decreased due to two reasons. Forest degradation is the first main reason. As well know, blood pheasants live on forest. If the habitat is destroyed, it is difficult for them to survive. In addition, the flesh of blood pheasant is delicious and tender and the animal is also not big so it is not a hard job for human beings to hunt and kill them. Feathers and skin of blood pheasants can be exported to other countries for selling.

Songhua River is the largest tributary of Heilong River with the total length of 1900km. The river, whose drainage area is larger than that of Pearl River, covers 545, 6000 square kilometers. Acreage of Songhua River takes up 69.32% of the total land of the three provinces in northeast part of China. Songhua river has two sources in both north and south parts. The north source is Nenjiang which is also a large river. Nenjiang originates from Daxinganling and flows from north to south. The length of Nenjing is 1379km and the drainage area which takes up 51.9% of the total drainage area of Songhua River, covers 283,000 square kilometers. South source originates from Changbai Mountain with the length up to 795km. The drainage area of south source covers 78180 square kilometers, taking up 14.33% of Songhua River. The source also supplies 39% water of Songhua River. Silt content of various rivers belonging to drainage area of Songhua River is not much. River basin of Songhua River is rich in forest with a large amount of timbers. The region is the largest forest area in China. Abundant mineral resources also can be found in the region such as gold, iron, copper and coal etc. In addition, various crops such as soybeans, maize, wheat, sorghum, flax and cotton etc provide great yield for local people. Songhua river is a quite large freshwater fishery in northeast part of China. In a world, compared with other rivers in northeast part of China, Songhua River plays an more important role in agriculture, shipping and other aspects of people’s daily life.
However, people rarely treat the great river well. At present, pollution for Songhua River has become a serious problem. In the year 2005, the double benzene plant of China Petro encountered explosion. As a result, much harmful substances flowed into Songhua River. Many creatures were badly affected. Although people took measures to deal with the accident, the pollution could not be completely eliminated. The quantity of pollutants discharged by people into Songhua River is also not small. At the south bank of Songhua River, 175,100 cubic meters waste water without good treatment is discharged into the river every day. Besides people’s unreasonable activities, natural disaster could also cause more serious pollution for Songhua River. On 28th July 2010, terrible flood occurred in a county of Jilin province and various buildings suffered from collapsing. Consequently, more than 7000 barrels of chemical materials of chemical factories were flowed into Songhua River. According to some report, those materials included 3-methyl chloride silane, hexamethyl disilazane and other chemical substances. A large number of items floated on the river due to fast-flowing so salvage work proceeded with some difficulties. Some chemical reaction happened as some chemical met with water. Therefore, smog and pungent odor were given out. In such case, local water sector had to stop water supply temporarily. At present, the clean-up work still continues. We hope that people could make great achievements for the pollution caused by flood. But we should pay more attention to the ecosystem of Songhua River in future. Otherwise, unexpected accidents or disasters could happen sooner or later.

Chinese paddlefish with the Latin name called Psephurus gladius is considered as “Panda in Water”. As its mouth and part nearby is like the nose of elephants, Chinese paddlefish is also named “elephant fish”. Chinese paddlefish is the largest freshwater fish in the world. The head of Chinese paddlefish is very long and the length exceeds half of the body length. Many sensory nerve tissues in the shape of plum flower scatter on the surface of its head. Head, body and tail of Chinese paddlefish are grey and green while the abdomen is white.
Chinese paddlefish belongs to semi-anadromous fish and it mainly perches upon middle and lower layer of Yangtze River. Sometimes, the fish also swims into some large lakes. Big Chinese paddlefish are good at swimming and they often move around deep river channel. While small fish choose to look for food in tributaries, port and even the brackish water area of Yangtze area. At present, people can not confirm whether Chinese paddlefish need to move into the sea for reproduction as well as growth or not. In fact, people have ever found Chinese paddlefish in Caspian Sea and Black Sea. Some record displays that the length of the largest Chinese paddlefish is about 28 feet with the weight up to 2860 pounds. In addition, people have also caught the fish more than 1 ton. Chinese paddlefish is a large and ferocious animal and it lives on various fishes. Sometimes, the fish also eat shrimps, crabs and other animals. Pregnant Chinese paddlefish could hold 200,000 eggs. The fish often produce eggs more than 100kg but some can produce eggs exceeding 500kg.
The meat of Chinese paddlefish is quite delicious and tender and it also provides people abundant nutrients. 17.18% protein and 5.64% fat are contained in the muscle. Its liver contains 8.71% protein and 8.2% fat. 17 measureable and common amino acids can be found in muscle and eggs. As Chinese paddlefish could offer so many nutrients, people’s hunting and killing never stop. Like many rare and precious animals, Chinese paddlefish inevitably suffer from ecosystem degradation. People have badly changed the natural environment and Chinese paddlefish has few habitat for survival. The last time people found Chinese paddlefish is in the year 2003 because people caught a Chinese paddlefish by mistake. Nowadays, the quantity of Chinese paddlefish is very small so the price is extremely high. Driven by significant profit, some people still rack their wits to hunt for Chinese paddlefish. For the time being, people have not worked out the methods for artificial breeding. The distribution area for Chinese paddlefish has become smaller and smaller as well as its smaller and smaller body. Chinese paddlefish nearly has the same endangered status as that of panda. The government has issued some laws to forbid hunting and killing for Chinese paddlefish to protect it and some reserve has also been built. However, what the government has done is far from enough for people’s activities are always destroying the environment. We hope that artificial breeding for the animal will be successful as soon as possible before extinction occurs.

Ganges River, also named Ganga, is the largest river in north part of India and it is always considered as the “Holy River” in Indian Christians’ mind. Ganges River is also an important river in south Asia. The river flows though one of the regions with the most dense population and the most fertile land. The total length of Ganges River is about 2700km and the drainage area is up to 1.06 million square kilometers. Ganges River Originates from Himalaya Mountain and infuses into the Bay of Bengal. The acreage of Ganges River takes up 1/4 of the whole India. Most parts of Ganges River are in India but the delta appears in Bengal.
Ganges River is rich in water and various creatures as well as resources. Consequently, it feeds numerous people living along . Fertile land brings vast Ganges plain and delta by flowing streams. Industrious Ganges people live and work in the area from generation to generation and they have created unique civilization there. Since ancient times, people have built irrigation channels along Ganges River. As flood came, those channels could be made full use of. As an important river in India and south Asia, Ganges River absolutely plays an pivotal role in shipping. In addition, the power reserve of Ganges is up to 13 million kilowatts and 2/5 of them distributes in India. In a word, Ganges River plays an essential role in agriculture, industry and tourism development for local people.
However, people never stop unreasonable activities which have seriously polluted the great river. It is said that the river has the function of self-purification. Even so, the speed of self-purification is much slower than that of pollution made by people. In local people’s mind, Ganges River is the Holy River where they could remove their sin. Therefore, as people die, especially poor people, others alive would throw them into the river directly. In addition, many people also jump into the river to commit suicide in hope of entering into paradise after death. In such case, floating corpse is common in the river. Ashes of the dead are also thrown into the river. Therefore, occurrence of the contamination is not strange. Besides dead bodies, other pollutants also have been discharged into Ganges River. According to some report from Indian government, about 265 billion liters waste water without any treatment is discharged into the river every day. In fact, waste water handled just takes up less than 30% of the total contaminated water in India. In recent years, much fewer people go to Ganges River for bath when bathing festival comes every year due to serious pollution. A large amount of foam and garbage are floating on the river. As it gets hot, people could smell the odor from Ganges River. Many factories located along the rivers at the same time discharge some harmful heavy metals into the river by paying very low security deposit. At present, some industries related with water have lagged, for example, fishery. The government is trying to clean the river and we hope that what they do will be effective. Otherwise, Ganges River could not remove people’s sin and purify their souls any more.

Proboscis monkey has a formal name called nasalis larvatus. The main and obvious feature of the proboscis monkey is the big nose. Its nose is long and big but people at present still do not know what the function is. As male proboscis monkey grows older and older, its nose also becomes bigger and bigger. When they are excited, their noses would erect up or shake up and down. That is very funny. However, nose of female proboscis monkey is quite normal. Male proboscis monkeys are much larger than female ones. Body length of male proboscis monkeys is usually about 75cm with the length of tail up to 75cm but the length of female ones is just 60cm. In addition, the weight of male proboscis monkeys is twice of that of female ones. Male proboscis monkeys also have another unique feature which is the big and inflated belly. Some people who do not have enough knowledge upon proboscis monkeys often consider male ones as pregnant female proboscis monkeys. Proboscis monkeys like living in groups and they also have their own leaders respectively. Generally speaking, 10 to 30 proboscis monkeys often consist of a group. Unlike many other animals, proboscis monkeys are choosy for food. So it is not quite easy for them to find food when various fruits on trees are not mature. Proboscis monkeys have to walk some miles to obtain enough food every day. Compared with other primates, proboscis monkeys eat much more because there are various microorganisms which could ferment food in the stomach.
Proboscis monkeys originate from Kalimantan Island located in southeast part of Asia. At present, the north part of Kalimantan Island belongs to Brunei and Malaysia while south part is a part of Indonesia. Many mosquitoes and sand flies live in the region so the living environment is not good. However, proboscis monkeys like the place very much for they can get enough food. Although the environment is bad, the habitat for proboscis monkeys still belongs to the region with the most dense population in Kalimantan Island. Some big cities and towns and most large agricultural area concentrate in the region. Therefore, most habitats of proboscis monkeys have been destroyed by forest degradation. In such circumstance, the survival of proboscis monkeys has been seriously threatened. Even though proboscis monkeys have been protected by laws, hunting and killing never stop. The animal also can not be fed by people. Otherwise, it would die within a week. Most proboscis monkeys scatter in the area which belongs to Indonesia and people have never made survey for the quantity. But in Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah, the number of proboscis monkeys has decreased rapidly. In order to protect the precious animal, a natural reserve with acreage of 60 square meters, was built in Sarawak. The natural reserve extends to forest and leads to the central land of Kalimantan Island. People have taken various measures to protect the remaining animal but people have to verify whether they have made some achievements or not.

Chicago Tarum River, located in west part of Java Island of Indonesia, originates from the mountainous area at the south part of Bandung and inflows into Java River. Chicago River is an important river in Indonesia with the length of 272km. The river provides water for irrigation as well as drinking water for local people. Before 1980s, the water in Chicago River was great and the scenery nearby was also very beautiful. Fishermen caught fish in the river and farmers obtained water from the river for irrigation. In addition, tourists also enjoyed themselves so much as to forget to go home. However, in recent decades, a large amount of industrial pollutants as well as daily waste have been discharged into the river which has been considered as the dirtiest river in the world by media. The surface of Chicago River is completely covered by various rubbish. If there is no boat on the river, it is likely for people to think it as a waste yard. People living along the bank can not fish in the river any more because there is no fish at all. Instead, they start to become scavengers. If they are lucky, they can get some rubbish valued 2 to 4 dollars. Since 1980s, the industry of the region has developed so fast and most factories are textile mills. At the same time, the population has also increased. At present, as Chicago River has been blocked, the hydropower plant nearby does not work normally. Local government is trying to clean the river but it is not an easy job. The current scenery of Chicago River is beyond many people’s imagination if they are allowed to describe the dirtiness.
Yamuna River is another river which is also seriously polluted. Ymuna River is the longest tributary of Ganges River with length of 1380km. The river originates from a glacier of northwest part of India. The river flows through Delhi and connects with Agra water way. Near to Mathura, the river also flows through Agra, Firozabad and Etawah. At the south bank of Yamuna River, some tributaries flow into the river such as Chambal River, Sindh River, Betwa River and Ken River etc. Yamuna River converges Ganges River near to Allahabad. However, pollution has badly affected the fertile river. 57% rubbish from New Delhi has been discharged into the river. From the year 1993 to 2005, the pollution increased by two times and the puffer has suffered from extinction. According to some official report, 75% to 80% pollutants in Yamuna River are daily waste. It is said that more than 30 billion liters of waste water which is discharged into the river every day by people living in New Delhi. Some scientists have got some water from the river as sample for test. As a result, the quantity of bacteria is 3000 times of that contained in safe and clean water. At present, the local government are taking measures to solve the problem and let’s wait and see what will happen.

Green peacock has a formal name called pavo muticus. Green peacock is one of the giants among all kinds of birds with the body length ranging from 1m to 2m. The weight of most green peacocks is about 6kg so it is also named “6kg” in Hushui, Yunnan province. But the weight for some larger ones is up to 7.7kg. Male green peacocks and female ones are similar in shape but the latter do not have the tail screen. As for green peacocks, people like their tail screen best for those feathers are quite colorful. The length of the feathers are 2 times of that of the body. People have always been making feathers of green peacocks as decoration since ancient times and they also create some dance according to the elegant gesture of green peacocks.
A male green peacock often has several wives and they move around in a group. In early morning, green peacocks come to the bank of rivers quietly and clean their beautiful feathers. Then they start to look for food. At noon, the sunlight is strong so they have a rest. Several hours later, they come out to seek for food again. Green peacocks mainly live on seeds, berry, rice and seedlings etc. Sometimes, they also eat some insects. Green peacocks often perch upon tropical and subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forests with altitude lower than 2000m. they especially like to move around in jungle, grassland, forest and other open areas. Green peacocks are good at running instead of flying and they are very alert.
Green peacocks originate from Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. In China, people can just find them in west, south and middle part of Yunnan province. In the past, people have found the beautiful bird in other regions of Yunnan but they have been extinct in those regions. As secondary deciduous monsoon forest and evergreen monsoon forest on which green peacocks depend have been destroyed, and quantity of them and their distribution area have decreased. At present, people could just find them in 17 to 32 counties in Yunnan with the total quantity of only several hundred. In southeast part of Tibet, the number of them is less than 100. More areas where green peacocks live are shrinking. In addition, a small number of people also hunt for green peacocks because their feathers could be make of beautiful and expensive clothes as well as decorations. Nowadays, artificial breeding for green peacocks is very common and the government has also categorized the bird as an animal under China’s level one protection. In such case, green peacocks, to some extent, could escape some misfortune. However, green peacocks’ survival encounters another kind of threat. Appendix hepatitis, also called trichomoniasis is a fatal killer for the bird. In 2007, a person who cultivated green peacocks found that green peacocks could die after they suffered from the terrible disease. Fortunately, people are able to find the treatment. Compared with some other animals, green peacock is luck y due to the feasibility of artificial breeding. Even so, protection for green peacocks is indeed necessary.

Cuon alpinus belongs to canine. The animal looks like dog and wolf but it is smaller than wolf and larger than red fox. The body length of cuon alpinus ranges from 95cm to 103cm and it weighs 13kg to 20kg. Cuon alpinus has four short limbs as well as short tail. Body hair of the animal is quite thick and coarse and it could change colors as seasons alter. In China, cuon alpinus could be found in many regions such as Jining, Xinjiang, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan,Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong etc. In other countries, people have traced them in east part, south part, southeast part and middle part of Asia. Although cuon alpinus scatters in many regions, the quantity in each region is quite small. The number of cuon alpinus is far less than that of fox and wolf. Habitats of coun alpinuses are very complicated because people can track them from tropical forest to mountain forest with altitude of 25mm to 3500m. Cuon alpinus mainly lives in rock gaps and natural caves. Cuon alpinus is a kind of social animal and some of them often live together. The rare animal sometimes eat cane, corn and other plants but it mainly feeds on other animals such as mice, hare, horse, deer and wild pigs etc. It even can successfully catch preys from wolf, bear, leopard and other ferocious animals due to perfect cooperation of group battle.
The meat of cuon alpinus can be considered as medicine, which was recorded in some medical literature of ancient times. Therefore, like many other animals with medical effects, cuon alpinus should not escape the misfortune of being hunted and killed. Since the ancient times, people have started to kill cuon alpinus. In the modern world, the quantity of cuon alpinus has also decreased rapidly. In 1960s, some department could collect more than 30 covers of cuon alpinus from Sichuan province every year. In recent years, they can not collect any covers in the region. In east part of Tibet, they could just collect dozens of covers. In Guizhou and Hubei, less than 10 covers of cuon alpinus could be collected every year. In northeast part of China, people are able to get one to two covers every year. We can see that the distribution density of the animal is very low and it is in dangerous situation. As the natural environment has been destroyed to varying degrees, habitats for cuon alpinus have naturally occupied. In addition, the number various animals which cuon alpinus lives on has reduced. Therefore, the animal can not get enough food. Then cuon alpinuses have to catch livestock as food. In such circumstance, people often kill them as harmful animals. In the past, people always consider cuon alpinus as harmful animal but now, the government has listed it as endangered animal and set up reserves to protect it. In some regions, people like it very much because it can eat those animals which often destroy people’s crops. Even so, the government should further improve people’s awareness to protect the rare animal.

Iberian lynx is the largest existing feline in Europe at present and biologists generally consider it as one of the felines with the smallest quantity in the world. As Iberian lynx has mysterious whereabouts, people have little knowledge about it. Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx are similar in shape but it is smaller. The weight of most Iberian lynxes ranges from 10kg to 15kg and the body length is about 85cm to 115cm. Iberian lynx has a cat face. The animal has well-developed sense of sight and smell so it could perceive preys 300m away. Hairs on the ears can help Iberian lynx probe various sound. Covered by the hairs, Iberian lynx also could attack enemies sneakily. Iberian lynxes are good at climbing and they sleep during daytime and come out to look for preys at night. Iberian lynx is a solo traveler in the nature. The rare animal lives on small mammals, birds, small reptiles and amphibians and 80% food of Iberian lynx is the hare. Male grown-up Iberian lynx eats a hare every day. As the quantity of hares in Spain has decreased rapidly, Iberian lynx has to hunt for other animals. Iberian lynxes mainly scatter on Iberian Peninsula located in southwest part of Europe and they live in mountains and forests of Spain and Portugal. At present, some Iberian lynxes are kept in Coto Donana National Park of Spain.
In the past, Iberian lynxes were found all over the Iberian Peninsula. But nowadays, the distribution area has become much smaller. According to some survey made by the World Conservation Union in 1990, Iberian lynx would be extinct before the year 2011. In 2000, people found 400 Iberian lynxes in the world but in the year 2005, there were only about 100 Iberian lynxes. At present, people are trying their best to take measures to protect Iberian lynxes but only 100 to 200 ones have been found in Iberian Peninsula. In fact, the decreasing of Iberian lynxes is caused by following reasons. First, people ever considered Iberian lynxes as harmful animal and killed them in large number. Although zoologists have launched the work to protect them in 1988, the situation was not good. Some farmers could still peel off the skin unscrupulously. Second, as the Spanish government has developed natural resources at random, the habitats of Iberian lynxes have been destroyed. In addition, many criminals like the skin of Iberian lynxes very much because it could be sold at great price. Third, a large amount of hares do harm to the agriculture so farmers inject a kind of mucinous pox virus into hares’ body. Therefore, many hares died. What is worse, after Iberian lynxes eat those hares, they will also die. In addition, some lucky ones have to suffer from hunger. Fourth, local government has built a highway through Coto Donana National Park. Consequently, some Iberian lynxes are killed by vehicles every year. In a word, the quantity of Iberian lynxes decreased by 80% from 1960s to 1980s due to people’s unreasonable activities. Now, Iberian lynx has been listed as an endangered animal but it seems a belated effort.

Leatherback turtle is the largest one among all kinds of turtles and it is also called “huge turtle”. The whole body of leatherback turtle is covered by smooth skin which is like leather. Leatherback turtle’s mouth is like hook and its head is big. So the turtle can not pull back the head into carapace. Body length of the largest leatherback turtle is about 3m and the shell is more than 2m. The weight of leatherback turtle is up to 800kg to 900kg.
Leatherback turtle is the animal which lives in the ocean. It mainly perches in the middle and upper layer of tropical sea but sometimes, people can find it in coastal waters and harbors. As leatherback turtle has four large limbs, it can swim fast in the water for a long time. In the year 1970, a leatherback turtle was caught in Yangtze River and the mark attached on its body displayed that it was ever caught by people in Atlantic Ocean which is far away from Yangtze River. Therefore, we can see that the leatherback turtle is absolutely an excellent swimmer. The strange thing is that leatherback turtle is a reptile which can change its body temperature. Leatherback turtle is able to keep the same body temperature of the environment of 25℃ in the waters of 7℃. The basic metabolic rate of leatherback turtle is lower than that of mammals but the body is an insulator which could keep enough heat. Therefore, the turtle can keep the same body temperature in environment of different temperatures. Leatherback turtles live on small fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed etc. They can also eat jellyfish with poisonous cell. Leatherback turtles do not have teeth but they have large and sharp horny puncture which grinds food attached on esophagus.
Leatherback turtle is the oldest and largest turtle in the world and there is not great change on its appearance. People can find it from Arctic sea to the Atlantic Ocean around New Zealand. In addition, leatherback turtles also scatter in various coastal regions of China. In past 25 years, the quantity of leatherback turtles has decreased rapidly. People often get their eggs as food and destroy the beaches where they lay eggs. Grown-up feather turtles are frequently trapped by fishing net then killed by human beings. In such circumstance, many killed leatherback turtles even do not have the time to produce next generation. Leatherback turtles have poor eyesight so they often consider waste plastic bags thrown by people as jellyfish and eat them. As a result, they die of intestinal blockage. In past 20 years, the quantity of leatherback turtles has decreased by 95% due to EI Nino, people’s illegal hunting, sea pollution and tourism development. If people have not taken any measures, leatherback turtles would be extinct within 10 years. It is estimated that in 1980, there were about 115,000 leatherback turtles but there are less than 43,000 ones in the world. People also find much less leatherback turtles lay eggs on beaches. Although people have listed leatherback turtle as endangered animal and forbidden illegal hunting, what we have done is far from enough.

Crested ibis, considered as the auspicious bird in legend, is a rare and precious bird in the world. The whole body length of crested ibis is about 79cm and the weight is roughly 1.8kg. The feather of crested ibis is white and a part of its head is red. Crested ibis has long and sharp mouth. The leg of crested ibis is about 9cm. Crested ibis is very beautiful with elegant body as well as dignified and generous action. The bird is quite docile. Crested ibis mainly lives in mountain forests and hilly areas of temperate zone near to wetland such as paddy field, floodplain, ponds, streams and marshes etc. Crested ibis is unsociable, quiet and timid. The bird requires high standard for living environment and it just select big trees as habitat. In addition, paddy field and marshes can be found near to the habitat and it is absolutely very quiet around the habitat. Crested ibis sleeps at night in big trees and looks for food in some farmland without fertilizers and pesticides or clean streams during daytime. Crested ibis mainly feeds on fishes, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs and some other tiny insects etc. In addition, it also eats some plants such as rice, seeds, leaves and cereal etc. Crested ibis rarely hoots unless it starts to fly occasionally. Crested ibis could produce babies when it is 3 years old. Some record displays that the longest life expectancy is 37 years.
Crested ibis ever widely scattered in East Asia and people could find it in east part of China, Japan, Russia and North Korea etc. Since 1950s, people’s activities have greatly changed the wild environment. Fertilizers and pesticides polluted the environment and forests were also seriously destroyed. In such circumstance, the quantity of crested ibis decreased rapidly. In 1920s, people thought crested ibis in Japan was extinct. At the end of 1960s, people could not find the bird in the Former Soviet Union. From 1970s to 1980s, crested ibis also disappeared in North Korea. Therefore, crested ibis is the exclusive bird in China. People ever traced crested ibis in many regions of China such as Jining, Liaoning, Beijing, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Shandong, Fujian and Taiwan etc. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of crested ibis started to decrease rapidly and people generally thought that wild crested ibis had been extinct. However, a study group spent 3 years tracking the bird. Finally, in the year 1981, the last group of wild crested ibis was found in Shanxi province. Then people started to do research for artificial breeding. In 1989, human beings succeeded in breeding crested ibis for the first time. In 1995, there were 35 wild crested ibises and 25 ones fed by people. At present, there are about 2000 crested ibises in the world.
Crested ibis has high value for viewing so some people may still hunt for it. In addition, people are continuing destroying the ecosystem. Therefore, we can not be optimistic about the future of the bird so early and we also should not lower our guard to protect it.

Leatherback turtle is the largest one among all kinds of turtles and it is also called “huge turtle”. The whole body of leatherback turtle is covered by smooth skin which is like leather. Leatherback turtle’s mouth is like hook and its head is big. So the turtle can not pull back the head into carapace. Body length of the largest leatherback turtle is about 3m and the shell is more than 2m. The weight of leatherback turtle is up to 800kg to 900kg.
Leatherback turtle is the animal which lives in the ocean. It mainly perches in the middle and upper layer of tropical sea but sometimes, people can find it in coastal waters and harbors. As leatherback turtle has four large limbs, it can swim fast in the water for a long time. In the year 1970, a leatherback turtle was caught in Yangtze River and the mark attached on its body displayed that it was ever caught by people in Atlantic Ocean which is far away from Yangtze River. Therefore, we can see that the leatherback turtle is absolutely an excellent swimmer. The strange thing is that leatherback turtle is a reptile which can change its body temperature. Leatherback turtle is able to keep the same body temperature of the environment of 25℃ in the waters of 7℃. The basic metabolic rate of leatherback turtle is lower than that of mammals but the body is an insulator which could keep enough heat. Therefore, the turtle can keep the same body temperature in environment of different temperatures. Leatherback turtles live on small fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed etc. They can also eat jellyfish with poisonous cell. Leatherback turtles do not have teeth but they have large and sharp horny puncture which grinds food attached on esophagus.
Leatherback turtle is the oldest and largest turtle in the world and there is not great change on its appearance. People can find it from Arctic sea to the Atlantic Ocean around New Zealand. In addition, leatherback turtles also scatter in various coastal regions of China. In past 25 years, the quantity of leatherback turtles has decreased rapidly. People often get their eggs as food and destroy the beaches where they lay eggs. Grown-up feather turtles are frequently trapped by fishing net then killed by human beings. In such circumstance, many killed leatherback turtles even do not have the time to produce next generation. Leatherback turtles have poor eyesight so they often consider waste plastic bags thrown by people as jellyfish and eat them. As a result, they die of intestinal blockage. In past 20 years, the quantity of leatherback turtles has decreased by 95% due to EI Nino, people’s illegal hunting, sea pollution and tourism development. If people have not taken any measures, leatherback turtles would be extinct within 10 years. It is estimated that in 1980, there were about 115,000 leatherback turtles but there are less than 43,000 ones in the world. People also find much less leatherback turtles lay eggs on beaches. Although people have listed leatherback turtle as endangered animal and forbidden illegal hunting, what we have done is far from enough.

California condor is the largest bird in north America. The weight of a grown-up California condor can be up to 22 pounds. The length of California condor is about 3m. When it spreads out wings, the width of California condor is about nine to ten feet. The big bird can fly up to 5000m altitude in the sky and it also looks for food by the flight of 225km every day. As we all know, California condor lives on carrion including remains of people and other animals.
12,000 years ago, many scavenging birds were extinct. However, California condors were very lucky and they escaped the misfortune successfully. Experts describe that California condor could still survive because they can eat various foods. Climate changing made animals which lived in north America live a hard life. At the same time, their natural enemy, the human beings started to entered into America. Various animals could not bear people’s rampant hunting as well as climate changing and they were extinct one by one. In such case, California condor could get enough food. Experts have make some experiments and found that some other condors just lived on terrestrial animals but California condor also ate dead seal and aquatic animals. A wide range of recipes give California condor long life.
California condor is one of the most endangered birds in North America. In the year 1940, people could find about 100 California condors in North America. In 1967, U.S Federal listed California condor as the endangered bird. At that time, it was estimated that there were only about 50 to 60 wild California condors in the world. In 1971 and 1973, U.S Federal issued laws to protect California condors and punished those who hunted or killed the precious bird. Even though the government took measures to protect California condor, the quantity of the bird still decreased rapidly. In 1975, the rescue team for condor protection was founded in California. In the year 1985, only 9 California condors were remained in the region and people decided to catch all of them for artificial raising and breeding.
From the year 1987 to 1991, all California condors were looped in San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo Breeding Center. Fortunately, people got great success for artificial breeding. For example, people working in the breeding center made fake condor eggs to attract female California condors’ attention. In 1991, as enough California condors were successfully bred, people decided to send some of them back the nature for reproduction in the wild environment. At present, the total quantity of California condors is about 200. Even so, people still can not lower their guard to protect the endangered bird because California birds could be in danger at any time. For example, 3 baby California condors were ever trapped in the fire which occurred in the forest of California and another two nearby also suffered from heavy smoke. California condor is an endangered animal so every one is quite important for the nature and ecosystem.