HAIKOU, April 30. /TASS/. The Hainan authorities intend to accelerate the development of tropical rainforest parks in the central and southern parts of the island and create favorable conditions for the growth of the population of unique local gibbons, www.stdaily.com writes.
"Thanks to the development of tropical rainforests, we are creating a "green biological shield" on Hainan. By protecting these forests, we are restoring an integral ecosystem, as it had once existed,” the publication quotes the words of the head of the regional forest administration Xia Fei. "Thus, we are saving rare species of fauna, as well as endangered flora."
According to the official, the strategy of the island’s administration is aimed at maintaining an optimal natural balance, on which the level of well-being of the population depends directly. The official said that, according to statistics, the area of tropical frainorests inhabited by the Hainan gibbons already exceeds 4,400 square kilometers — about 15% of the total province. The official said that local authorities and relevant agencies in Beijing pay close attention to the development of these areas.
According to Chen Qing, an employee of the Bawanglin Nature Reserve, these rare primates had previously avoided humans, however recently they have begun to get near human settlements. "Previously, gibbons reacted to the slightest movement and instantly disappeared from view, it was very difficult to track them. Although, recently these animals have become bolder and are watching the rangers from a distance of only three meters," he said.
According to his colleague, several years ago, during a typhoon, which tumbled down trees and even led to large landslides, the reserve’s specialists built ropes at the tops of the trees to build comfortable passages to provide freedom of movement for gibbons that rarely descend to the ground. At first, the animals did not dare to approach, but gradually they got used to it and now constantly use these artificial devices.
“During our work to protect the Hainan gibbons, we have achieved positive changes, as a result, there has been a tendency to a steady increase in their population,” Chen Qing concluded.
Due to uncontrolled hunting and large-scale deforestation, the number of Hainan gibbons on the island from the 1950s decreased from 2000 species to 7 in the 1980s. To save them from total extinction, the local government created the Bawanglin Nature Reserve in the area where the last surviving primates of this species were discovered. Following that move, an intensive planting of trees, which are vital for these primates, was initiated in the conservation area. Over the past two decades, about 100,000 trees were planted, which allowed to restore the forests to some extend.
The Hainan gibbons, currently preserved only on this Chinese island, rarely descend to the ground, preferring to live on trees at an altitude of about 10 meters. All these factors significantly complicate their maintenance and population growth in artificial conditions.