1 . There are at least 4,500 snow leopards (雪豹) in China, making up more than half the species’ (种类的) global population.

How do snow leopards live in the cold mountains? In fact, every physical feature (身体特征) of the “King of the Snowy Mountains” helps them with the cold. Their short ears reduce heat loss. The nasal cavity (鼻腔) warms the air before it reaches the leopards’ lungs. Their long, thick tail is around the same length as their body. The tail can act as a scarf, covering the animal’s mouth and nose when it lies down. Snow leopard fur is 20 times thicker than human hair.

China is home to the animal’s key living areas, which is about 1.1 million square kilometers. Snow leopards’ natural living areas are in the mountains. They’re regarded as a sign of high mountain environment. When the population drops, this probably shows that it is under pressure or being damaged (破坏).

Thanks to the national parks set up by the government, snow leopards’ living areas keep their natural state to a high degree, but they continue to face dangers because of problems resulting from human activities…

4 . On the morning of April 19, 2022, fishermen found a stranded sperm whale (搁浅的抹香鲸) on the beach of Xiangshan Country in Ningbo, Zhejiang. The whale is 20 meters long.

Unlike land mammals, whales can’t sweat (出汗) to cool down. So, they get very hot and cannot live long outside of water.

The rescuers (救援者) kept pouring water onto the whale to keep its skin wet and waited for the rising tide to take it back to deep waters.

21 hours later, at high tide, with the help of some boats, the whale went back into the sea.

“Watching such a big whale going back into the sea made me feel so proud of my work,” a rescuer said.

“This is the first time I have seen such a large sperm whale stranded. A 20-meter-long sperm whale is already in old age,” said Zhao Shenglong, a teacher at Zhejiang Ocean University.

The sperm whale is the first-class protected animal in China. Stranded sperm whales have been recorded rescued along the coast of Fujian, and this is the first rescue in Zhejiang.

7 . Every day as the sun rises, an old man can be seen walking with his dog to Yuncheng Salt Lake in Shanxi Province. He’s Ma Hongyi, and he lives in a village just about 200 meters from the lake.

Ma still remembers the day in the winter of 2014 when he first saw two big pink birds walking through the water. “I had never seen such pretty birds. They were even taller than me, with long wings (翅膀),” Ma said, holding his arms out wide.

A young man told him the birds were flamingos (火烈鸟). They’re not easy to be seen in China and have been listed as endangered animals.

From the first day he saw the flamingos, Ma started working as a volunteer to patrol (巡逻) the lake area. Every day, he walked around the lake to stop people hurting the birds. He told people not to get close to them and not to throw waste into the lake. “The birds like the environment here,” Ma said. “I’ll try to protect the lake so that they can come here.” After patrolling the lake as a volunteer for over four years, Ma took a job offered by the local government in 2019.

“The lake environment is getting better and better,” Ma said. “Some of the flamingos are my old friends.”

8 . The air is thin here in Tibet and we have to rest several times on the short hike from camp. To our left, snow-covered mountains disappear into clouds that seem almost close enough to touch. On the wide grass in front of us, we can just see a group of beautiful animals. This is why we are here—to watch Tibetan antelopes (藏羚羊).

Tibetan antelopes live on the grass of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinhai. Watching them move slowly across the green grass, I am shocked by their beauty. I am also reminded of the danger they are in. People hunt for their expensive fur.

My guide is Zhaxi, a villager from Changtang. He works at the Changtang National Nature Reserve (保护区). The reserve is a safety home for the animals and plants of northwestern Tibet. To Zhaxi, the land is sacred (神圣的) and protecting the wildlife is a way to life. “We are not trying to save the animals,” he says. “In fact, we are trying to save ourselves.”

The 1980s and 1990s were bad times for the Tibetan antelope. The number dropped by more than 50 percent. Hunters were killing antelopes to make money. Their homes were becoming smaller as new roads and railways were built.

In order to save them, the Chinese government put it under national protection. Zhaxi and other volunteers watched over the antelopes day and night to keep them safe. Bridges and gates were added to let the antelopes move easily and keep them safe from cars and trains.

The antelope number has risen and in June 2015, the Tibetan antelope was no longer endangered. The government, however, does not intend to stop the protection programmes, since the threats to the Tibetan antelope have not yet been gone.

In the fine evening, I drink a cup of tea and watch the stars. I think about the antelopes and what Zhazi told me. If we really want to save the earth, we must change our way of life. Only when we learn to be in harmony (和谐) with nature can we stop being a threat to wildlife and to our earth.

9 . Last year, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo set up a “Panda Post Office” to mark the 50th anniversary (周年) of the arrival of Chinese pandas in Japan. Early Friday morning, visitors came to the post office of the zoo to buy the panda stamps for the anniversary.

On Oct 28, 1972, a pair of pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, arrived at Ueno Zoo as a gift from China for a friendly relationship between two countries.

Waiting to buy the stamps, some people took panda posters in line, some were carrying bags with panda pictures, and some were holding panda toys in their arms. Whether it was a gray-haired man or a little child, they expressed love for pandas in their own ways.

Miho Nakagawa, known as the “panda reporter”, was at the front of the line. She is a full-time reporter, taking all kinds of photos about pandas every day and sharing them with people on the Internet. “They are like our own children. Watching them from birth to growth, their every move touches our hearts.” Nakagawa’s words have spoken the mind of the people who love pandas.

10 . On the morning of February 21, panda XiangXiang left Japan to fly back to China. In fact, China and Japan protects pandas together. And it’s a part of the friendship between two countries. People’s love for pandas can help two countries communicate well and make friends.

A plane carries it back to Sichuan at 5: 25 pm. It will be sent to Bifengxia Panda Basc. It’s a panda research base and famous as the hometown of pandas.

Xiang Xiang was born at Ueno Zoo in June 2017. Its parents are both from China. It certainly belongs to（属于）China. It was the first panda naturally which was born and grew up in Japan since You You in 1988. However, it’s very popular with Japanese after she was born.

Now it’s five years and eight months old. The leader of Ueno Zoo said, “If it can find a good mate（伙伴）and live in China，it’ll be very amazing.” He also said many Japanese couldn’t stand seeing Xiang Xiang leave Japan. They really loved and missed it very much. It had become the symbol of the relationship between two countries.

In Japan, many people often go to the zoo to watch Xiang Xiang. They really love it very much.