Chinese nature reserve releases report on snow leopards
CHENGDU - A national nature reserve in southwest China’s Sichuan Province released Thursday a monitoring report on snow leopards to better protect the vulnerable species.
Jointly conducted by the administration of the Wolong National Nature Reserve and several research institutes including Peking University, the report presented the distributions, habitats and life habits of snow leopards in the reserve between 2009 and the first half of this year.
Over the past decade, more than 4,000 video clips and photos of snow leopards were captured by infrared cameras, and over 200 excrement samples of the carnivores were collected by researchers, the report said.
Many rare images were recorded, such as snow leopards staking a claim to territory or climbing rocks in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, “home of the giant panda,” it said.
The report indicated a dense distribution of snow leopards in the reserve, where the species’ habits and potential habitats cover 438 square km.
The analysis showed that the snow leopards enjoy a rich diet, such as bharal, also known as Himalayan blue sheep, yaks and birds, representing a complete and sound ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the report called on the reserve to strengthen management and reduce the impact of grazing.
China to launch Chang’e-5 lunar probe in 2020
XIAMEN -China plans to launch the Chang’e-5 probe in 2020 to bring moon samples back to Earth, according to Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program. The Long March-5 carrier rocket, China’s current largest launch vehicle, will be used to send the probe into space, Wu, also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at the first China Space Science Assembly, which opened Saturday in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province.
The second Long March-5 rocket was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern province of Hainan on July 2, 2017, but a malfunction happened less than six minutes after its liftoff.
China’s space engineers have spent over two years looking for the cause of the malfunction. The third Long March-5 rocket is being transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center for a new flight, according to Wu.
Wu said the Chang’e-5 probe includes a lander, an orbiter, an ascender and a returner. The key of the mission will be lunar sample collection, takeoff from the moon, rendezvous and docking on lunar obit and high-speed reentry into Earth’ atmosphere.
China’s current lunar program includes three phases: orbiting, landing, and returning. The first two phases have been accomplished, and the next step is to launch the Chang’e-5 probe to collect 2 kg of moon samples and bring them back to the earth.
China is also drawing up the plan for the fourth phase of the lunar exploration program.
In the fourth phase of the program, China will conduct scientific detection in the south polar region of the moon by mainly using high intelligent robots, and realize long-term exploration in the complicated lunar environment, Wu said.