Wildlife protector reaches for the sky

Targeting poachers and patrolling nature reserve ensure safety of migratory birds

Fu Jianguo seems quite busy in the spring when flocks of migratory birds return from the south to the Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. However, he asked for a three-day leave to accept a prize awarded by the China Wildlife Conservation Association for his work on protecting rare wild birds.

"Although it was not my first time to get such an award, it is still a great encouragement for me to stick to my way," said Fu, 57, head of a wildlife protection association in Lindian county, Heilongjiang.

Moreover, his team also got a group award at the ceremony, which was held on April 2 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

Established in 1979, the reserve, located in the western part of Heilongjiang, is a well-preserved primitive wetland.

Covering 2,100 square kilometers, the wetland lies on a major migratory route for birds from the Arctic to Southeast Asia, and is a stopover point and nesting area for a large number of species including storks, swans, herons and grebes.

Most of the wetland's core zone is located in Lindian county, occupying an area of 580 square kilometers.

Fu became involved in bird protection in 1984 as a guide for a wildlife research institute and became a ranger at Lindian Forestry Bureau three years later.

"In fact, I had become familiar with the wildlife since childhood," he said. "I got lots of chances to help take care of injured and young birds for my father who was also a wildlife protector at the bureau before retirement."

To Fu, protecting local wildlife is also a family tradition.

In 1988, he moved to live on Songhe Island, home of a rescue station for wildlife and never left. However, Fu discovered that the knowledge he had gained before was far from sufficient to do the work.

Therefore, in 1996, he entered Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, Heilongjiang, to study wildlife protection for two years.

"It was quite a precious experience, helping me get lots of knowledge about bird banding, bird-borne epidemic monitoring, prevention and treatment, which covers almost all my daily work," he said.

"However, the actual work is much more complicated than books."