Qinghai, the land of wolves and songs

Throughout the spring and summer, I traveled in Qinghai, crossing the Qilian hinterland, climbing over the Bayan Hara Mountains, and meandering along the tributaries of the Yellow River and Lancang River. The memories this long journey brought to me are not only the mountains and rivers frozen in ancient times, but what is even more unforgettable to me are the animals running freely in this vast wilderness.

The source of the Lancang River: Yuyu’s lone Chinese wolf

In May, the pastures in Zhaqing Township, Zaduo County, the source of the Lancang River, were still withered and yellow, and the wide river surface was covered with ice and snow. Although the barbed wire fence on the gravel roadside showed that this was already a pasture for herdsmen, the cold breath prevented nomadic herding. At this time of people's transition, it was far from the season of herds of cattle and sheep, and the world was lonely.

 

 

We drove slowly in the opposite direction of the river and carefully examined the surrounding hillsides with binoculars, trying to spot traces of Chinese wolves.

"The wolf is coming." What a familiar story. For every Chinese, wolves are almost the most iconic and unfamiliar animals. Whether it is a cunning, evil, and ferocious character in fairy tales, or a totem of toughness and bravery in Western legends, wolves shuttle through people's imagination in different images. However, due to the vigorous wolf hunting campaign and the rise of poaching after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the wolf population has declined sharply. Even in remote mountainous and forested villages, it is difficult to find a single wolf. The wolf has become a legend.

alpine vulture

 

The wolves on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau may be lucky. Although they have been hunted, their vast habitat gives them the possibility to thrive. Arriving at the inaccessible source of the Lancang River, our desire to see wolves was once again aroused.

 

This time, the goddess of luck really favored me. Although the binoculars were empty, a lone figure of Yuyu suddenly appeared not far from the front of the car. At first I thought it was a stray Tibetan dog, but After seeing the big drooping tail clearly, I immediately felt excited and determined: It's a wolf!

This is a strong lone wolf, about 1.5 meters in length, with pointed ears standing alertly on top of its head. It has gray-brown hair with a few strands of silver on its back. The tip of its tail is mixed with brown-black fluff, hanging down. Between the two strong hind legs. This is an adult Chinese wolf, also known as Tibetan wolf and Mongolian wolf, which is a subspecies of gray wolf.

 

Wolves are naturally loners, choosing to be alone most of the year, and only live in groups in winter. This lone wolf, probably silently patrolling its territory, met us unexpectedly. The wolf did not choose to run wildly because of our approach. It maintained its own rhythm and walked lightly through the long grass. Every so often, it would stop and turn its head to look at us, with a somewhat focused look in its eyes. Cold and a bit disdainful, as if to say: "Keep your distance, otherwise it will be dangerous!"

We did not choose to chase it, but just silently watched its back gradually go away. Meeting the wolf once again refreshed my feelings about the journey to the west: in addition to the pleasure of exploring the mountains, even just staying in the same place with the wolf is enough to make me feel better. Everything around me became completely new: this meant that I was in the real wilderness.

Two Lakes: Plateau "handsome guy" hides wild donkeys

The sky was blue just a moment ago, but suddenly a large group of dark clouds came from nowhere, and snow particles fell crackling down, hitting my face with pain. I was parking my car to be a guest at a Tibetan friend's house. I covered my head and ran towards the tent, but the little girl Sima grabbed me. She yelled "囧,囧" and tried her best to make me look in one direction. "What is 囧?" I looked out curiously through the white snowflakes, and saw a group of strong figures running through the swamp not far away. It turned out that "囧" is the Tibetan name of the Tibetan wild donkey.

 

Although its name is "囧", in my mind, the Tibetan wild ass is the most muscular animal on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and it is also the most easily seen national first-level protected wild animal during travel. Whether you are walking around the Donggetsona Lake, or on the scenic road through Zhaling Lake or Eling Lake, or even at the door of the Tibetan house in the pastoral area, there are always hidden wild donkeys accompanying you.

 

The Tibetan wild ass is a low-risk protected animal. Its population has been declining due to overgrazing, gold mining, poaching and other human activities. Later, through many years of conservation actions, the number of Tibetan wild donkeys gradually recovered, and now it has reached 100,000.

The Tibetan wild ass, which is extremely handsome in appearance, is the largest of all wild donkeys. Their body shape and hooves are larger than that of domestic donkeys, making them particularly tall and strong. Local people often call them "wild horses".

 

Tibetan wild donkeys are not too afraid of people. Some donkeys that act alone often stay dozens of meters away from people. However, small groups of Tibetan wild donkeys are more vigilant and often keep a distance of about 500 meters from people. Many times, I like to park the car quietly on the side of the road, roll down the window, and watch them roam freely and eat grass from a distance. They look so cute, clean, alert, and strong... and they like to wander so much. Life is like that of the ancient nomads on the plateau.

 

The cold wind took away the last trace of warmth from the fingers, the rivers and lakes were still unfrozen, and the snow particles made the tents crackle. There was not enough food in the barren grasslands in early spring, but they had already adapted and flaunted the vitality of life in front of us. vitality. The short one-month trip to the plateau has consumed too much of my energy, and the bad weather has made me even more exhausted. However, the wild donkeys are still so strong. Facing them, I have to admit the differences between individuals. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, humans are invaders, and this land originally belonged to them.

Hoh Xil: The Tibetan antelope is no longer mysterious

The famous Tibetan antelope is also the target species I plan to see during my trip to Qinghai. Along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, heading north from Freezing Spring and passing through the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, you may pass by these mysterious plateau elves along the way.

 

Tibetan antelopes usually inhabit open habitats at an altitude of 3,700-5,500 meters, including grasslands, meadows and desert environments. In an era when transportation was inconvenient, these places were often inaccessible. As a medium-sized antelope, the male Tibetan antelope's horns can grow up to 70 centimeters, which are very powerful weapons. Apart from wolves and brown bears, they have almost no natural enemies on the plateau. The Tibetan antelope, which could have lived freely in its own homeland with these two points, eventually became world-famous due to human poaching. It has to be said to be a kind of tragedy.

 

"Every man is not guilty, but he who carries a jade is guilty." In the past few decades, Tibetan antelopes have been poached and killed by humans in large numbers to obtain "cashmere" for use in making expensive shatoosh. This has reduced the population of Tibetan antelopes. A sharp decline. In order to protect the Tibetan antelope, the Chinese government has listed it as a national first-level protected wild animal. The movie "Kekexili" is adapted from the true story of Sonam Dajie, a pioneer in Tibetan antelope protection. It is touching and shocking.

Fortunately, with the continuous improvement of protection efforts in recent years, the population of Tibetan antelopes has also been on the rise. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has also specially added a migration corridor for Tibetan antelopes. Around Bufrost Spring Station, you have the opportunity to witness the harmonious scene of a herd of Tibetan antelopes galloping under the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

I tried to quickly climb up the small slope to take pictures of this rare sight, but the oxygen concentration in the Hoh Xil area was so pitifully low that I felt dizzy after only a few steps while carrying a telephoto lens up the hill. So if you are not fully prepared, don’t try to race with these sheep, let alone compete with yourself. Watching the Tibetan antelopes leisurely across the road from a distance, and not chasing them or disturbing them, will be a threat to these plateau creatures. The best protection.

In summer, Tibetan antelopes will molt, and the male Tibetan antelopes will also take off their "black masks" and change into sandy brown summer hairs with the female Tibetan antelopes. Although they are still smart and cute at this time, they lack the smoothness and luster of winter hairs. Exquisite.

Self-driving tours in Qinghai are often chosen in the summer. If you are lucky enough to see these "ragged" sheep, don't be surprised. Slowly aim the camera, adjust the focus, and take a photo. Believe me, as long as it is arranged by nature, The encounters are all beautiful.

 

Comes with a Tibetan gazelle

 

Hala Lake: The wild yak that looks down upon the world

After a night of camping, the convoy continued its journey towards Hala Lake. The long ancient Shule River channel was about to come to an end, and the wheels gradually turned into large areas of frozen soil. We are currently crossing a corner of the Qilian Mountains. Although we cannot yet feel the rising slope in our field of vision, there are more and more snow around us, indicating that our altitude is gradually rising.

hala lake

 

Under the snow-capped mountains in the distance, a huge black thing appeared. Is it a car? Not quite like it. As the distance got closer, the behemoth suddenly looked back, with its shoulder blades high and its sharp horns curved. It was so menacing that everyone exclaimed: "Ah! It's a wild yak!"

 

Objectively speaking, with the strengthening of laws and regulations on the protection of certain species in recent years, the living environment of some wild animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has improved to a certain extent. It is not difficult to see Tibetan wild donkeys and Tibetan gazelles. Driving through Hoh Xil, the famous Tibetan antelopes frequently appear in travelers’ photos, but when it comes to wild yaks, they are still rare, although we have been looking forward to this. We could see a wild yak, but we didn't expect it to actually appear in front of us.

The wild yak is a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a national first-level protected wild animal. It only lives in the alpine tundra, grassland and cold desert areas in the mountainous areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In my heart, the wild yak best represents the vastness, richness and prosperity of the Tibetan area. Rough. Millions of years of evolution have made wild yaks highly adapted to the plateau environment: In order to obtain nutrients from low-quality grass food, their stomach tumors have become larger; in order to run as much as they want in long-term hypoxic environments, their chests have become wider. , the blood oxygen capacity is extremely strong; and the multi-layer hair system is developed, which is beneficial to reducing daily heat loss and adapting to cold environments. Adult male wild yaks are more than 175 centimeters tall at the shoulders and weigh more than 800 kilograms. In nature, they have few natural enemies.

 

In the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the wild yak is an animal that people respect and fear. It is the god of the plateau among herdsmen. According to legend, it has a very violent character. It is said that a lone male yak is the most dangerous, no matter how strong the opponent is. If you dare to challenge it, you can topple a five-ton truck.

The wild yak not far away indeed has the majesty of a king, with its horns pointing to the sky, long hair hanging down, its thick limbs like strong pillars sticking straight into the ground, and a pair of thick, wide, sharp horns resting on its huge body. , majestic, looking down at the sky, flaunting a kind of rugged male beauty. It seems that only this kind of physique and such momentum can match the surrounding mountains. The sky is a cover and the earth is a hut. They roam freely between heaven and earth. This free and noble creature makes the tiny human beings trudging in the wilderness feel ashamed.

 

I remembered a poem I read a long time ago: "The horns are raised, one hundred bulls, one hundred and ninety-nine horns. One hundred bulls raise one hundred and ninety-nine kinds of might." So powerful. The beauty of the mountains can only be bestowed by the plateau wilderness, and can only be truly understood after walking on the plateau wilderness.

 

The wild yak did not attack us. It just raised its tail high and gave us a silent warning. Seeing that we made no move, it slowly walked towards the snow-covered mountains, which we could not yet touch. area, the proud bull stood high on the snow-capped mountains, silently watching us leave.

 

Comes with a bar-headed goose

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——Lingyang wrote this article at the Yangtze River Water Source Protection Station on the Tuotuo River in Qinghai at an altitude of 4560 meters.