(CN) Wild beasts back in Beijing

[Guest guest]

China Daily http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/

(WANG YING)

10/03/2001

 

 

 

Those ants at your picnic in the Beijing outskirts may turn out to be the

most benign of your uninvited guests.

 

Wild boars, jackals and other beasts of prey live in nearby forests and

mountainous areas, a recent study by the Beijing Forestry Bureau revealed.

 

In fact, the city is home to more than 200 large wild animals, the national

research showed.

 

The existence of these animals is attributed to an improving environment and

increasing public awareness of conservation, said Wang Minzhong, director of

the Beijing Wildlife Protection Station under the Beijing Forestry Bureau.

 

The four-year study, involving experts from Beijing Normal University,

Capital Normal University and the Beijing Natural History Museum, took three

years of field work. Survey teams panned out around Beijing and found boars,

jackals, wolves and leopards living in mountains in Beijing's suburbs, said

professor Chen Wei of the Capital Normal University.

 

More than 70 wild boars live in Changping District in North Beijing,

Mentougou District in the west and Huairou County in the north, the study

indicates.

 

The effort also found more than 20 jackals living in Huairou County, Yanqing

County in Northwest Beijing and Miyun County in Northeast Beijing.

 

More than 20 wolves live in Huairou, Yanqing and eastern Pinggu, the report

said.

 

Although leopards have not been spotted by members of the team, about 10 are

believed to live in nearby mountains. Trails of leopards, including fresh

excrement and fur and evidence of animal activity tipped off the scientists,

Chen said.

 

The forests in mountainous areas around Beijing once were home to many more

wild animals. Logging, desert expansion and human activity forced wild

animals to leave those areas.

 

In recent years, the trend has started to turn around and wild beasts are

starting to be found in larger numbers, Chen said.

 

Beijing, which covers 16,800 square kilometres, is home to more than 420

species of wild vertebrates, the Beijing Wildlife Protection Association

said.

 

There are other signs that the improved environment is helping diversify the

animal population and help it thrive. In mountainous areas in Mentougou

District, the number of brown-eared pheasant is steadily expanding.

 

And the number of wild migratory birds gathering at Wild Duck Lake (Yeya

Lake) in Yanqing County hit 100,000 at the peak of the year, Beijing

Forestry Bureau sources said.