Infrared footage from the Saihan Wula Nature Reserve in Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has recently documented the vivid scenes of wild Manchurian wapiti, a protected species, bellowing and battling for territory and mates.
The Manchurian wapiti, or Cervus canadensis xanthopygus, a proposed subspecies of the wapiti native to East Asia that may be classified as its own species, Cervus xanthopygus, is currently under class-two state protection.
The video footage includes scenes of an adult male deer bellowing, as well as a dramatic confrontation between two males battling for territory and mates.
"The bellowing of deers peaks in September and October, primarily as males attempt to attract females," said Hong Meijing, head of the scientific monitoring section at the reserve.
To support conservation efforts, researchers have installed 59 infrared cameras in the reserve and use technologies such as GPS collars and DNA analysis to track the Manchurian wapiti population. These methods provide essential data on their behavior and population dynamics, forming a solid foundation for developing effective protection strategies.
According to the Chifeng Wild Plant and Animal Protection Association, the latest monitoring reveals that the Manchurian wapiti population across seven reserves in the region has grown to approximately 12,000.
Infrared cameras capture wild deer battling for territory and mates
The Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport -- a pivotal airport in central China's Henan Province -- saw its cargo throughput surge to 800,000 tons in 2024, a record high since the airport was opened in 1997 following reconstruction on the basis of the Zhengzhou Dongjiao Airport.
Leveraging the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg "Air Silk Road" project, Zhengzhou is actively building itself into an international aviation hub. Currently, the Xinzheng International Airport has made great improvements in network coverage, service guarantee, and transfer efficiency.
Presently, 29 cargo airlines are operated in Zhengzhou, running a total of 57 cargo routes. Those air routes have formed a hub network across the three major economies of Europe, America and Asia, covering major economies in the world. As of Dec 20, the cargo volume of Luxembourg cargo flights handled in Zhengzhou this year reached 136,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 38.8 percent.
"We will keep enhancing our hard power of cargo guarantee and our soft power of operation service, and will continue to strengthen cooperation with freight forwarders, cross-border e-commerce platforms and other enterprises. We will also improve the efficiency of cargo collection and distribution through air-to-air transfer and combined transport of air and high-speed railway," said Zhang Mingchao, Party secretary of Zhongyu Aviation Group, an airline in Zhengzhou.
Pivotal airport in central China sees cargo throughput surge to record high
