XINING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Due to environmental improvements, the source of the Yangtze River has seen the population of the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) rise from 1,178 in 2012 to the current 3,195.
The bar-headed goose is one of the highest-flying birds, and there are estimated to be less than 70,000 such geese worldwide. Bande Lake at the source of China's Yangtze is a major habitat for the animal, but since the end of the 1990s, illegal hunting and the stealing of eggs have caused a sharp decrease in geese numbers.
According to local authorities of Tanggula Township in Golmud City of northwest China's Qinghai Province, a patrol team was organized in 2012 to crack down on illegal activities, and the local government has been cooperating with non-governmental organizations to monitor the population of the birds.
Yang Xin, with the Greenriver environmental protection organization, said that every April the geese fly from places such as India and Nepal to Bande Lake to mate and lay eggs. Volunteers camp at the lake to observe the birds and calculate their population, with the work lasting until June when the eggs hatch.
"The volunteers counted 1,178 geese in the area in 2012, and the number this year is 3,195," Yang said.
The Golmud city government is building a bar-headed goose observation station in the area, which is expected to open within two years.
