Indigenous wildlife population making comeback in Shanghai

Cong Yi

Cong Yi / Ti Gong

When you take a stroll around the city's greenery or just inside your residential complex, have you ever expected to encounter wildlife inhabitants?

That's exactly what's happening. Raccoon dogs, civets, red-bellied squirrels, leopard cats and other creatures indigenous to Shanghai are becoming more common as the city's habitat for wild animals improves.

Raccoon dogs, a national second-class protected animal, are commonly seen. Estimates suggest there are more than 2,000 of them in the city, with sightings in at least 147 residential communities, according to local forestry authorities.

Civets, a first-class protected animal, have been spotted many times by infrared surveillance cameras, students and teachers at Fudan University's Xinjiangwan Town campus since June 2020.

Birds such as swan geese and baikal teals can be seen in Shanghai's mudflat and seashore areas as they rest or look for food, while birds like Eurasian curlews and great knots can be seen in the city's seaside wetlands in spring and autumn.

Cong Yi

Ti Gong

Late last year, a porcupine surprised a Shanghai morning jogger when it ran across the road near her home in the Pudong New Area.

The animal dashed out of the grass at the intersection of Biyun and Heisong roads, according to the jogger.

The reason for the animal's appearance in downtown Shanghai remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to reestablish animals once indigenous to Shanghai and East China.

March 3 marks World Wildlife Day, a day proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's wild animals and plants. This year's theme is "Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration."

Just before March 3, Chongming Island's Xincun Village will become Shanghai's first wild habitat for elks.

The habitat, mostly farm fields and forests, covers more than 300 mu (20.1 hectares) of land.

Four elks, one male and three females, were introduced from Dafeng Elk National Nature Reserve in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, in 2020 and 2021.

They are in good health and have gotten accustomed to their new environment, the city's greenery authorities said. Their names are Xiang Xiang, Ye Ye, Mei Mei and Le Le.

The goal is to restore the elk population and the island's biological diversity while conducting research on their release into the wild, authorities said.

Cong Yi

Zheng Yunxiang

Ti Gong

The habitat comprises five areas, including a living area and education center, and features wetland landscapes and a forest. Here, people can learn about elk and see how they live.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were once home to a healthy elk population. They mainly lived on the plains and in the marsh regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers dating back 2 to 3 million years. Shrinking habitat and hunting decimated their numbers to the point they were no longer found in the area.

In the late 19th century, the only elks living in China were kept in a royal hunting ground in Beijing. Some were killed and the rest transported to Europe.

In 1985 and 1986, 77 elks were re-introduced to China in a joint project with the United Kingdom.

Huaxia Park in a Pudong forest belt near Outer Ring Road is at the forefront of efforts to reestablish water deer in the city, where they once thrived in the latter stages of the Stone Age and their population is steadily growing.

The deer roamed in Shanghai as early as in the Neolithic period. Bones of river deer were found at the Guangfulin archeological site in Songjiang District.

The Shanghai Zoo has an area featuring more than 20 species indigenous to Shanghai and East China, such as Oriental white storks, otters, leopard cats, river deer and mallard ducks.

"Some animals that once lived in Shanghai have seen a significant decrease in population or have disappeared entirely due to various natural and human factors," said Pei Enle, director of the Shanghai Zoo.