Infrared cameras, satellites aid China's wildlife conservation

(ECNS) - China is expanding the use of infrared cameras and satellite tracking to bolster wildlife conservation, with populations of endangered species showing signs of recovery, according to media reports.

The announcement came on the International Day for Biological Diversity, with China's forestry administration saying more than 200 rare and endangered wild animal species nationwide had entered a stage of population recovery.

In the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, monitoring teams recorded three newborn Hainan gibbons last year, bringing the population of critically endangered ape to 44 across seven groups.

Infrared cameras and satellite tracking have also been deployed in the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve to monitor reintroduced snow leopards. Researchers recently documented two of the cats successfully breeding in the wild for the first time.

Shi Kun, a professor and former director of the Wildlife Research Institute at Beijing Forestry University, said eight snow leopards had been introduced into the area since 2021, with authorities building a long-term monitoring system using satellite and camera technologies.

Globally, conservation agencies are increasingly adopting remote sensing and automated monitoring tools to track wildlife populations and habitat changes.

(By Zhang Jiahao)