1 . Cats and many other animals, including most dogs, can reflect light from their eyes. That’s why cats’ eyes will usually shine brightly in photos taken in a dimly lit room or glow when lightened in the dark by a flashlight or a car’s headlights.

Species whose eyes glow have evolved to see better in low light because they either forage or need to look out for predators (天敌) throughout the night, or they do most of their hunting at dawn and dusk. In fact, domesticated cats can see in conditions that are only 16% as bright as what people require.

Cats accomplish this because their pupils (瞳孔) — the openings that appear black in the middle of their eyes that widen and narrow in response to light conditions—are special. Pupils operate like windows, with bigger ones letting more light into the eye. And a cat’s pupils can become up to 50% larger than human pupils in dim light. They also have a higher number of a specific type of light-sensing cell in the back of their eyes than we do. These cells, called rods (杆细胞), catch low-level light. In addition to having large pupils and lots of rods, cats have something people don’t: a tapetum lucidum (荧光膜), a Latin medical term that translates to “bright or shining tapestry”. The tapetum lucidum is also known as “eyeshine”.

It’s located in the back of the eye behind the retina (视网膜) — a thin layer of tissue that receives light, converts the light to an electrical signal and sends this signal to the brain to interpret the image．

A cat’s tapetum lucidum is made up of cells with crystals that, like a mirror, reflect light back to the retina. This gives the retina a second chance to absorb more light.

In cats, the tapetum most often glows yellow-green or yellow-orange, but the color varies, just like their irises (虹膜) — the colorful part of their eye, which can be green, yellow, blue or golden. Variation in tapetum color is not unique to cats and can be found in lots of species.

4 . Chen Guanghui is a guardian for black-necked cranes(黑颈鹤) in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve of Zhaotong city, in southwest China’s YunnanProvince. Whistling(吹口哨) is the secret language Chen uses to communicate with the black-necked cranes, a type of migratory bird under first class protection in China. She says different whistles signal different things. When she whistles in an increasing tone, she tries to tell the cranes: ask your companions to come back for lunch, and they would chirp(吱喳叫)to spread the message right away.

Living near the Dashanbao Nature Reserve, a major winter habitat(栖息地) for the rare species, Chen started to take care of them in 2003, a mission she took over from her mother, whose devotion dates back to the 1990s.

“In the first few days, I remembered they ran away as soon as I approached them. I was very upset and asked my mom to come back, and I was worried they would starve,”   says Chen. “I initially tried everything, even singing folk songs to attract them, but failed. Later, I used special whistles and gradually formed close bond with the cranes. ”

“I treat them as if they were my own children, and I’m always concerned about them, especially during snowy days when they can’t get food. I feel uncomfortable and anxious when I hear them chirp and usually rush to prepare corn for them. ” It’s never been an easy job, and Chen has sustained quite a few injuries over the years, even falling into frozen marsh(沼泽)while trying to save a trapped crane in 2008. However, she never gave up. With love and responsibility, she has persisted in caring for the cranes for about 20 years.

Thanks to the joint protection efforts of Chen and staff members at the nature reserve, now more than 1,900 black-necked cranes overwinter in the area each season every year, up from about 300 when the nature reserve was established.

7 . Habitat improvement and a series of protective measures have played a crucial role in the rise of the population of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys(滇金丝猴) , one of the planet’s most endangered animals.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, also known as the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, lives in high-altitude areas at more than 3,000 meters above sea level in Southwest China’s Yunnan province and the neighboring Xizang autonomous region. About 65 percent of its population inhabits the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve.

“Currently, the reserve is home to about 3,000 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys,” said Lai Jiandong, head of the Wildlife Protection Station at the Baima reserve. When the reserve was first established in 1983, however, the population numbered a mere 800.

Lai stresses the continuous enhancement of management levels within the Baima reserve, including the adoption of cutting-edge technologies for monitoring and protecting not only the snub-nosed monkeys but also other endangered wildlife species.

“In recent years, using technologies like infrared(红外线) cameras, we have taken pictures of rare and endangered creatures such as leopards, jackals and sambar deer,” Lai noted, emphasizing the important role of such advancements in wild animal protection.

The primary duties of the Wildlife ProtectionStation involve the daily care of the snub-nosed monkeys in the Weixi Lisu autonomous county, as well as the sheltering and rescue of injured animals. “Over the past few years, we have provided assistance to more than 200 wild animals, including Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, pandas and macaques,” said Lai.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is under China’s national first-class protection and has been listed as an endangered species on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They will be better protected.

8 . Thousands of emperor penguin chicks across four colonies in Antarctica are believed to have died because of record-low sea ice levels that caused a catastrophic breeding (繁殖) failure in late 2022, according to new research.

Analysis of satellite images showed the break-up of the stable sea ice and the disappearance of the colonies at a time when chicks had not yet grow n their waterproof feathers. Scientists have said emperor penguins face an uncertain future under global heating because they are so dependent on sea ice.

The research said that the breeding failures in the Bellingshausen Sea never happened before, as it was the first time multiple colonies across a large region had all failed in a single season. “It’s a worrying story,” said Dr. Peter Fretwell, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey and the lead author of the research. “The sea ice loss has been far quicker than we imagined.” Many parts of the region had near-total loss of sea ice. Fretwell estimated as many as 7,000 chicks may have perished. “In some cases it’s possible the sea broke up into smaller floes (浮冰) or under the feet of the penguins,” he said. “If immersed, the chicks will drown. If they get back on to the ice floes, they will freeze because of lack of their waterproof feathers.”

Dr. Barbara Wienecke, a senior research scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division, said“They still have their down y plumage (全身茸毛). If the ice breaks out before they can safely enter the water, the plumage becomes so wet that the chicks die of exposure. It’s extraordinarily upsetting to think of this happening.”

Both Wienecke and Fretwell said predictions of the future for the penguin species may have to be revised, with the risk potentially greater than previously feared. Fretwell said: “It’s only by changing our behaviour and the amounts of fossil fuels we use will we completely change the situation for these emperor penguins, and many other species. How bad it gets is still up to us.”

10 . Five rare pink Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins were spotted swimming in the sea off Hong Kong, southern China. The video was filmed in the city of Shantou in Guangdong Province on April 5. The newly born In do-Pacific humpbacked dolphins are dark grey, the young ones are grey and the adults are pink. The video was provided by local media with permission.

The Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins known as Chinese white dolphins, or pink dolphins are first-class national protected animals and listed as “vulnerable” in the red list of threatened species by the IUCN (世界自然保护联盟). The numbers have dwindled because they are particularly vulnerable to sewage (污水) and chemicals that are dumped into the harbour daily, as well as overfishing, boat traffic and coastal development.

Dr Lindsay Porter, a senior research scientist in the University of St Andrews, has been working with local conservation group — WWF Hong Kong, to study the dolphins in the Pearl River Delta. He says the number of pink dolphins in Hong Kong has jumped by 30% in recent months. These waters, which were once the most crowded waterways in Hong Kong, have become more dolphin-friendly, ever since boat traffic was suspended in February due to the outbreak of COVID-19. “I’ve been studying these dolphins since 1993 and I’ve never seen anything like this dramatic change before, and the only thing that changed is 200 ferries stopped traveling before.

According to WWF Hong Kong, although there are about 2, 500 in the entire delta, the situation remains ugly. Still worrisome decrease in the number of young dolphins in Hong Kong’s waters has been observed. In a statement, WWF Hong Kong has advocated for the government to designate a development-free Dolphin Conservation Management Area in the western and southern Lantau waters by 2024, so that the dolphins have safe feeding and socializing habitats. It’s necessary to take a proactive approach to conserve the remaining population of the species before it’s too late.