First-class protected animals refer to those wild animals that are extremely small, critically endangered, and rare and rare. These animals not only have extremely high ecological value, but also carry the responsibility of human beings to respect and protect the natural world. This article will introduce the types of 10 first-class protected animals and their related conditions.
1. Giant pandas
The giant panda is a first-class protected animal in China and the symbol of the World Nature Society. Giant pandas are mainly distributed in the subalpine areas of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and other places in China, and their main food is bamboo. The giant panda is one of the most popular animals in the world and one of the great resources for ecotourism. However, the habitat of giant pandas is also seriously threatened, and as of January 2021, China's wild giant panda population has increased to 1,864. As of October 2023, the total number of giant pandas living abroad in China has reached 63.
2. Crested ibis
The crested ibis is a bird animal of the genus Crested Ibis in the family Peliformes. The crested ibis uses its long beak to explore waterfront mud pools in search of food, feeding on small fish, loaches, shrimp, crabs, frogs, insects and other small animals. In ancient China, the crested ibis was believed to bring good fortune, and the crested ibis and the magpie were listed as "auspicious birds". On November 2, 2023, the head of the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Bureau announced that the number of crested ibises in the world will exceed 10,000 in 2023.
3. High-nosed antelope
The high-nosed antelope is a mammal of the genus Artiodactylaceae, also known as saiga, saiga, and big-nosed antelope. It has also been found in the Junggar Basin and Beita Mountains in Xinjiang, Gansu, and near the Sino-Mongolian border in western Inner Mongolia. The living environment has been deteriorating due to overhunting, poaching, increasingly severe drought, increased human activities, overgrazing, and farmland reclamationSeasonal migration routes are often artificially blocked;Natural predators and diseases have led to a sharp decline in their numbers.
Fourth, clouded leopard
The clouded leopard is a mammal of the genus Clouded Leopard in the order Carnivorous cats. In China, it is distributed in the first belt and tropical forest area, the north is limited to Qinling in Shaanxi, Luoyang in Henan and the south of Gansu, west to Chayu and other places, south to Hainan, east to Zhejiang and Taiwan. Feeds on coconut cats, pigs, pheasants, macaques, gibbons, small mammals, and birds, and attacks chicken coops. Nocturnal, living alone. Due to the stealthy nature of the clouded leopard, its population is difficult to reliably estimate, and habitat loss due to deforestation and the production of traditional Chinese medicine are considered to be the main reasons for the decline in the clouded leopard population.
5. Przewalski's horses
Przewalski's horses are distributed in Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places in China, mainly eating sagebrush and reeds, and can cut snow to forage for dry grass in winter. Due to multiple reasons such as ruthless hunting by humans and the deterioration of the habitat ecological environment, Przewalski's horses became extinct in the wild in the middle of the last century. At present, there are fewer than 1,500 Przewalski's horses in the world, making them a rarest species than giant pandas.
6. Asian elephants
Asian elephants mainly inhabit tropical rainforests, monsoon forests and valleys, hillsides, savannahs and wide areas in southern Asia, and often wander in valleys, riversides, bamboo forests and broad-leaved mixed forests below 1000 meters above sea level. Like to live in groups, each group of a few heads, dozens of heads, no fixed residence, a wide range of activities. There are only about 300 wild elephants left in China.
7. Tiger
Tigers are typical mountain forest animals, ranging from tropical rainforests and evergreen broad-leaved forests in the south to deciduous broad-leaved forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests in the north. Tigers are often solitary, and males and females only live together during the breeding season. There is no fixed nest, mostly wandering in the mountains and forests in search of food, and can swim. Due to human hunting and habitat fragmentation in the wild, tigers have become a rare and endangered species, with a 2016 survey showing that the global wild tiger population was 3,890.
8. Snow leopard
The snow leopard is a big cat that often moves near the snow line and in the snow, hence the name "snow leopard". Snow leopards are found in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Pamir Plateau, the Tianshan Mountains, the Altai Mountains and other alpine regions in western China and eastern Central Asia. Its fur is grayish-white, with black spots and black rings, and its tail is long and thick, which is an excellent protective color in the rock piles, and is known as the "king of the snowy mountains".
9. Leopard
The leopard, also known as the "leopard", lives in forests, shrubs, wetlands, deserts and other environments, and its nests are mostly built in dense bushes, shrubs or caves. The camp lives alone, often active at night, and rests in trees or caves during the day. Feeds on a variety of ungulates, monkeys, rabbits, rats, birds, and fish, as well as sweet berries in autumn. When food is scarce, they also sneak into villages at night to steal poultry and livestock. It is very widely distributed and spans many parts of Asia, Africa, from the Himalayas to the Sahara Desert.
10. Golden snub-nosed monkey
The golden snub-nosed monkey is a collective name for the animals of the genus Rhizomes in the primate family Primaceae. Also known as the upper-nosed monkey, there are 5 species under the genus, namely the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, the Guizhou golden snub-nosed monkey, the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, the Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkey and the Burmese (Nujiang) golden snub-nosed monkey. The snub-nosed monkey inhabits forests at high altitudes all year round and is a typical diurnal forest arboreal animal. Social life, based on a male and multiple female reproductive unit, is the most complex social structure among primates. It feeds mainly on plants and is a typical plant-eating animal.