A buzzard is released into the wild on Nov 30 on the outskirts of Beijing. [China News Service] Two injured buzzards were released into the wild on Nov 30 after being nursed back to health at the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center in the Jiufeng National Forest Park, on the outskirts of the capital. GPS tracking data on Tuesday showed one of the birds of prey had flown to southern Henan province, while the other reached a county south of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province. The common buzzard is a wildlife species accorded second-level State protection. Yet they are still the target of poachers. Zhou Lei, who works at the rescue center, said one of the birds, which was sent to the center by citizens on Oct 12, had a slingshot pellet in its body. The other, received on Nov 16, had wounds to its mouth, chest and feathers. If a raptor has to be sent to our center that generally means it is terminally ill and we only have a small chance of saving it, Zhou said. He said the untamed nature of such birds makes them difficult to treat. Sometimes they tear off bandages just after we wrap them up. We had to make an Elizabeth collar for one, he said, referring to the conelike headgear often seen on injured cats and dogs. Before release, the center fitted the buzzards with GPS trackers, enabling its workers to monitor the birds' flight altitude and geographic coordinates. If we find that the buzzard is no longer moving, we search for it, as we may need to rescue it again, he said. Deng Wenhong, executive director of the rescue center and a professor at Beijing Normal University, said the solar-powered GPS trackers are made in China and weigh 17 grams. They can recharge as many as 500 times with direct light, oblique light and weak light. After the battery is depleted in two or three years, they automatically drop off. Raptors are at the top of the food chain, Deng said. They are the 'dominators' and 'regulators' of other species, critical to maintaining the stability of ecosystems. By tracking them, we not only learn their life-history traits, but also the characteristics of other species within their territory. About 80 percent of the 4,475 birds of prey helped by the rescue center last year were injured. Almost 15 had received wounds from nets, air guns or slingshots used by poachers. Other causes of injury included eating poisoned mice and hitting glass window panes. The two buzzards were lucky to be found early and receive professional treatment. But they still face the danger of being caught or killed, Zhou said. It is crucial to raise the awareness of citizens to protect and help raptors. It is unrealistic for rescue centers to organize patrols for injured animals. Qiu Weiyi contributed to this story. festival wristbandsprinted braceletsrubber wristbands in bulkslap wristbandscheap custom wristbandsrubber bracelets cheap
HARBIN -- Having finished a six-month stay in Sanya of Hainan, China's southernmost island province, Zhang Guizhen, 69, and her husband Yang Yuhua, went back home to Harbin, the country's northernmost provincial capital, where the spring arrives in late April.Over the past 13 years, Zhang has become accustomed to flying to Sanya in October and back to Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, the following May like a "migratory bird," just in time to spend Mother's Day with her children.Across China, millions of old people are traveling north and south for a pleasant life all year around.Zhang said she joined a group consisting of 100 seniors who go to the tropical island for a warm winter stay, where the average temperature remains above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in December.Zhang used to suffer from the freezing air in her home city, as the temperature usually falls below minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter. She was in lasting discomfort due to her arthritis flaring-up in cold weather. Thanks to the warm weather of Sanya, her swollen knees and pain have gone for good.According to a report by the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the number of migrants to Hainan exceeds 1 million every winter, most are from northeast China, though many come from other areas."Sanya and Harbin are over 4,000 km apart, but for me, it's just an air ticket away," Yang said.The migrants' retired life is conditioned by increasing incomes, improved infrastructure and better facilities. The local real estate companies in Sanya have designed senior-citizen apartments with special features for elderly care, such as emergency buttons linked to medical services.As the long-distance settlement of medical insurance has been adopted for years, the migrants can enjoy healthcare services anywhere. Local pharmacies are also stocked with medicines for common elderly diseases such as heart attacks, hypertension and arthritis.As additional trips between Harbin and Sanya in summer and winter surge, tourist agencies have chartered special trains for passengers to travel between the north and south every November and April.Now that summer is approaching, Yinquan Seniors' House, which has 100-plus guest rooms in Heihe, Heilongjiang, has been booked-up by elderly people in the south attracted by the mild summer, said Wang Wenlan, manager of the house.According to data released by Heilongjiang Department of Civil Affairs, 2.05 million old people sojourned in the province in 2017, with total expenditure reaching 14.35 billion yuan (about $2.27 billion)."Such a tourist flow shows social change regarding the cultural tradition of being attached to one's native land in the past," said Wang Yalin, professor of sociology at Harbin Institute of Technology. "It is an inevitable trend in China that people are moving from cold industrial cities to sunny places, a phenomenon that occurred in the United States in 1950s and 1960s."Wang Aili, deputy head of Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said the periodic migration of Chinese seniors reflected their pursuit of a better life, which is conducive to consumption, economic growth and regional cultural exchange."My life is as good as it can be, and I am not afraid of getting old," Zhang said.
