Mountain county changes its spots to ensure leopards thrive

Local authorities also turn to them sometimes for information about North China leopard conservation. This happened last year when the local government was applying for an interest-free loan from the World Bank to support the construction of ecological corridors in the reserve.

In a draft plan, Northeast Forestry University proposed building five such corridors. After considering the alliance's suggestion to build 11, the local government increased the number of corridors to eight, she said.

In 2022, the county government also accepted the alliance's advice to designate 782 sq km of land as core areas for North China leopard conservation where development is banned, Huang said

Standing amid the Baoxiangtian project, Huang said she was optimistic the project would succeed on multiple levels.

The flowering shrubs attract insects that are natural predators of crop-eating pests, aiding insect control on the farmland, she explained. In addition, crops such as sesame will be grown to provide food sources for birds.

She said the alliance anticipates the ridges will be transformed into habitats suitable for lizards, snakes and small birds that may draw predatory raptors.

"This is a cafeteria for all forms of life," Huang said.