双语新闻 | 国际志愿者韶关行：我和老虎有个约会 Expat photographers visit South China Tigers in Shaoguan

国际志愿者韶关行：

我和老虎有个约会

上周末，由英文《深圳日报》与中国平安集团联合主办的“守护华南虎”活动在韶关圆满结束。一群来自十个不同国家的外籍人士在短暂的两日行程中，深刻感受了韶关的人文与自然，更走进了华南虎繁育研究基地，与虎宝宝近距离互动。这群外籍人士中有野生动植物摄影师、生态系统研究员/工程师和网络博主等，通过活动，也向外界宣传了华南虎保护。

5月21日，大家来到韶关城市规划展厅，了解韶关的历史文化、现代发展与旅游资源；漫步新落成的韶州公园，通过展览感受韶关市花兰花的风采，并走进直播间，与一场盆花销售直播不期而遇；在城市盒子体会城市抗疫成就，行走武江边，感受城市绚烂夜色。

Francisco Jose Vergara Undurraga一家人在兰花展。王皓岚摄

来自印度的Chakraborty Chiranjib在韶州公园。刘旭东摄

来自印度的Sushil Asar是IBM深圳办事处的顾问，他说，虽然这是他第一次来韶关，但城市规划展厅中展示韶关优美景观和灿烂历史文化的图片给他留下了深刻印象，他说自己会再到访这座城市探索更多。“韶关非常美丽，规划良好。这个城市既有历史，也有未来。” 他表示，已经和朋友们有了去丹霞山拍照的计划。

22日一早，一行人就乘车前往华南虎繁育研究基地，此次行程的“重头戏”开始了。当天正值国际生物多样性日，这样特别的日子也给此次行程增添了一抹亮色。中共韶关市浈江区委常委、宣传部部长李保红也到场，一同与外籍友人看老虎，真诚互动。

李保红（右一）为外籍友人撑伞。刘旭东摄

2008年，经国家林业局批准，华南虎繁育研究基地在韶关国家森林公园内建立。基地规划占地面积200亩，由科普教育区、繁育研究区组成，是目前中国规模较大，管理规范，集科学研究、科普教育、生态旅游于一体的华南虎繁育研究基地。

华南虎繁育研究基地大门口。林松涛摄

基地充分利用原生态自然环境，建成了3个半野化模式的华南虎繁育区，1个育婴区（华南虎幼儿园），有16套虎舍；目前，基地内的华南虎数量已达13只。基地内还有实验室、专家楼、监控室等科研配套设施，以及虎文化宣教中心、生态广场、科普长廊等科普旅游设施。

走进基地，大家首先看到了一只名叫“小满”的成年雄性华南虎，立刻被其“王者风范”撼动，纷纷拿起了手中的相机，快门声不绝于耳，想尽力捕捉到“王者”的一举一动。

六岁的雄性虎“小满”。林松涛摄

华南虎是中国特有的虎亚种，目前在野外已基本找不到踪迹。1989年《中华人民共和国野生动物保护法》将华南虎列入国家一级保护动物，联合国1996年发布的《濒危野生动植物国际公约》将华南虎列为第一号濒危物种，为世界十大濒危物种之首。

2005年“华南虎野外放归国际研讨会”与会专家认为：华南虎在自然界已不存在可自我延续与恢复能力，人工繁育华南虎进行野化训练和放归自然，促进其种群复壮，是拯救华南虎的必然途径。通过这些年的不懈努力，中国华南虎的种群数量已经达到了246头。

在“华南虎幼儿园”，大人和孩子的目光都被一对5个月大、分别名叫“莲花”、“芙蓉”的虎宝宝吸引了。它们的成长过程曾在网上直播，流量超高，是基地首屈一指的“小明星”。

“莲花”与“芙蓉”在嬉戏。林松涛摄

“莲花”和“芙蓉”顽皮好动，不停地在众人面前追逐、嬉戏玩耍，时而抓取玩具皮球，时而好奇凑近镜头，又“萌”又“猛”。

“莲花”与“芙蓉”。刘旭东摄

来自哥伦比亚的生物老师Isaac Cohen表示，大众对华南虎还缺乏认知，组织这样的参观活动对唤醒人们对动物的保护意识很有意义。同时，带着女儿参观的他还认为，这样的活动也十分具有教育意义。

Sushil Asar则称赞韶关当地政府在保护华南虎方面做得很好，并说他以后会带孩子再次参观基地。

在现场，外籍人士们还为这对虎宝宝取了英文名，并加入有饲养员在内的微信群，进行网上领养。饲养员将不定期在群内用图片等方式分享虎宝宝的生活状况，外籍人士可以把图片等分享在自己的社交账号上，使更多人关注这个珍稀物种。

来自英国的Ashley Main（右）在为老虎拍照。刘旭东摄

来自印度的眼科医生Nishant Vijay Radke为这对双胞胎取名为“胜利”"和“线”，以表达他美好的愿望。“它们一起构成了‘胜利线（终点线）’这个名字，就像在一场比赛中，你越过这条线就能获胜。”我希望华南虎能够越过这条线，在它们的栖息地永远不会感到威胁。

意大利生态系统科学家和工程师、清华大学深圳国际研究生院环境与生态研究所副教授Matteo Convertino加入了网上领养活动，他认为这是一个宣传受保护物种及其栖息地重要性的好机会。“像老虎这样的标志性物种可以成为吸引人们注意力的载体，传达保护物种的强烈信息。”他还将在他的研究网站上分享老虎的信息，以提升更多人的保护意识。

Expat photographers visit South China Tigers in Shaoguan

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Shenzhen on Saturday morning, a group of 23 expats and their families, most of whom are wildlife photographers and vloggers, arrived in the city of Shaoguan in northern Guangdong after a four-hour coach journey, and started a two-day trip during which they embraced nature and visited the South China Tigers to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity, which falls on May 22 every year.

At 8:30 a.m. yesterday, the group headed to the much-anticipated South China Tiger Breeding and Research Base to get up close with and know more about the critically endangered tiger species.

Video by Lin Jianping

Despite the heavy rains, the group’s excitement remained unabated when they were first greeted by a 6-year-old male tiger named Xiaoman. They showcased their photography skills to capture the majestic animal’s best moves.

The 6-year-old male tiger named Xiaoman. Chiranjib Chakraborty

At the tiger kindergarten, children and adults were delighted by the adorable and playful 5-month-old twin tigers, Lianhua and Furong, who were born on New Year’s Eve.

Photos by Liu Xudong except otherwise stated

They also closely admired the fast and powerful movements of the twins’ sisters, Yuanyuan and Qingqing.

A tiger in a breeding base licks on the glass. Anton Tsentalovich

Colombian biologist Isaac Cohen told Shenzhen Daily that it was meaningful and educational to visit the tigers with his daughter on the International Day for Biological Diversity. “The South China Tigers are very special species that most people don’t know, so it’s important to teach them about their existence and raise their awareness on the protection and conservation of the animals,” he said while reminding his daughter to watch the wild animals’ behavior from a safe distance.

Isaac Cohen (C) takes photos of a tiger.

Sushil Asar from India, a consultant at IBM’s Shenzhen office, praised the local government for doing a good job in their tiger conservation work and said he would bring his children to visit the base and introduce them to the tigers.

At the base, the expats also gave the tigers English names and joined the twins’ online adoption.

A screenshot of the tiger adoption WeChat group.

Through the online adoption system, expats will be kept updated with the tigers’ latest photos and conditions, which they can share on their social media to bring more attention to the species.

Nishant Vijay Radke, an eye doctor from India, named the twins “Victory” and “Line” to express his best wishes. “Together they make the name ‘Victory line’ like in a race where you cross the victory line to win! I wish the South China Tigers to cross the victory line and never feel or stay threatened in their wild habitat,” he told Shenzhen Daily.

A daughter of Francisco Jose Vergara Undurraga wears a tiger-themed mask. Wang Haolan

Matteo Convertino, an Italian ecosystem scientist and engineer, and an associate professor at the Institute of Environment & Ecology of Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, joined the online adoption. He believed it serves as a great opportunity to spread the message about the importance of conserving the species and its habitat. “Iconic species like tigers can be the vehicle to catch people’s attention and communicate strong messages to protect the species,” he said, adding that he will also share the tigers’ information on his research website to raise more people’s awareness.

Matteo Convertino (R) takes photos of a tiger.

The group was comprised of people from 10 countries, namely the U.S., the U.K., India, Japan, Russia, Italy, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia and the Czech Republic.

Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city bordering Hunan Province to the northwest and Jiangxi Province to the northeast and is about 323 kilometers away from Shenzhen. It takes around one hour and 40 minutes to travel by high-speed trains between the two cities.

Shenzhen Daily livestreams at the tiger breeding base. Wang Haolan

The event was jointly organized by Ping An Group and Shenzhen Daily, and the trip’s itinerary was planned by the Publicity Department of the Shaoguan Municipal Committee of the CPC.

After a late lunch Saturday afternoon, the group started their trip with a visit to the Shaoguan Urban Planning Exhibition Hall where they got a general picture of the city’s history, modern development, abundant tourism resources and more through a guided interpretive tour and a promotional video.

Sushil Asar (1st L) from India at the Shaoguan Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

Asar said although it was his first time to visit Shaoguan, he was impressed by the pictures showing Shaoguan’s sublime landscape and splendid history and culture, and said that he would come back to explore more. “Shaoguan is very beautiful and well-planned. The city has all kinds of things like its history and the future. My friends and I have made up our minds to visit Danxia Mountain next time to take pictures,” he said.

A group photo at Shaoguan Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

With the city’s basic information in mind, the expats went outdoors to the newly built Shaozhou Park where they walked around to fully embrace the greenery and enjoy the city’s tranquility. At the park, the expats also visited an orchid exhibition, during which they learned about different varieties of orchids, Shaoguan’s city flower, and their blooming seasons, and they also unexpectedly watched a livestreaming promotion of potted orchids.

A livestreaming promotion of potted orchids. Lin Songtao

Isaac Cohen's daughter plays at Shaozhou Park. Wang Haolan

The trip’s first day wrapped up with a relaxing stroll along the Wujiang River and a brief visit to City Box, a riverside exhibition hall showcasing the local government’s efforts fighting against COVID-19.