Rangers' uphill battle to save mountain wildlife

He easily identified the animals from their tracks, such as the double nail-like divots made by pigs' trotters and the two small, round holes that indicated deer. He carefully measured the tracks and noted them in a logbook.

In the past decade, the feeding patrols have been one of the reasons the number of wild elk in the area has risen from 10 to 15.

Fierce competition

Cui Zhigang, deputy director of a division at the Changbai Mountains Protection and Management Center, said some experts hold the view that feeding animals during winter undermines their ability to forage, but the fact is that the extreme weather conditions and the thick snow that covers green plants make it extremely difficult for the animals to secure enough food.

"In winter, they migrate from the high-altitude regions, where the thick snow accumulates, to the lower regions. As a result, competition becomes fiercer because most of the animals gather at the lower levels to look for food. The situation poses a threat both to the wild animals and the livestock owned by nearby villagers," he said.

To guarantee the survival of the wild animals and protect their foraging skills, Cui said the center has adopted a scientific feeding method that advocates frequent provision of small amounts of food.

That means the animals will survive, but will need to find their own rations if they want more than the bare minimum.

"In the reserve, we have set up about 200 feeding spots in places where animals regularly appear. The amount of food left at each spot varies according to the frequency of the animals' appearance as recorded by infrared cameras," he said.

After years of effort, data from the center show that since 2006 the number of yellow-throated martens has quadrupled, while the number of wild pigs has tripled.

Dangers

The center, in Antu county, Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture, employs about 350 people who form 27 teams of rangers across nine stations.