A couple of blue-throated bee-eaters(Merops viridis), known as “the most beautiful bird in China”, have been found around the Huanggang Park and Futian Mangrove Ecological Park(红树林生态公园), 2021.

The species(物种) also visited Futian Mangrove Ecological Park on September 20th, 2020 and stayed in the park for about a month.

Both birds are juveniles(年幼的) and are seen catching insects including bees, wasps, dragonflies and butterflies.

A large number of citizens have been attracted to Huanggang Park to take photos of the birds during the National Day holiday. And the management office of the park has arranged more security guards to protect the area where the birds are seen and set up a sign to remind the birders not to bait the bird through whistling (吹口哨) or playing recorded bird songs.

The blue-throated bee-eater is a species of bird from the bee-eater family. They are found throughout East and Southeast Asia in subtropical (亚热带的) or tropical mangrove forests. Their diet consists mostly of bees, wasps and dragonflies. The species is also a second-class protected animal in China.

Believed to have existed for more than 60 million years, crested ibises（朱鹮）are one of the oldest species of bird on Earth. Due to pollution and other human activities, the birds began to disappear in the 1960s.

In 1981, seven crested ibises were found in Yangxian county in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province. They were believed to be the last remaining ones worldwide.

But now, they have been saved from extinction（灭绝）. May 23 marked the 40th anniversary of the rediscovery of the crested ibis. Researchers said that the number has risen to more than 5,000 worldwide. There are 3,000 crested ibises in Yangxian county alone.

The bird’s survival owes to China’s early protection efforts, according to Zhang Yueming, an expert who helps protect the birds in Yangxian.

On the fourth day after the discovery of the seven crested ibises, the local government put out a series of notices to protect crested ibises. For example, hunting, cutting down trees, setting off explosives（爆炸物）in the mountains, or using fertilizers（肥料）in the birds’ natural habitat are banned.

Later, it also set up the Qinling No. 1 protection station and sent four people to guard the seven birds. These guardians worked day and night. In the daytime, they observed and recorded the birds’ habits and conditions; at night, the main job was to keep them safe.

In 1990, the Shaanxi Crested Ibis Rescue and Breeding Center was set up. At the center, crested Ibises are artificially bred（人工饲养）and can receive timely treatment when they are sick or hurt. Over the next 30 years, they also explored and created a complete system of artificial breeding techniques, laying a foundation for the birds’ later reintroduction into the wild.

“China’s protection of crested ibises is a paragon（典范）in the world’s history of preserving endangered wildlife,” Zhang told China Daily.

Jim used to be an actor. One day, a zoo-keeper found him. He said the zoo’s most popular animal actor Steve, a bear, got ill and couldn’t give a performance. He invited Jim to dress up as the bear until Steve got well. Jim agreed.

The next morning, Jim put on the bear costume and got into the cage (笼子) before the visitors came. At first, he thought it was an easy job. He did funny things and made people laugh. He drew bigger crowds than he ever did as an actor.

However, some days later he noticed that the visitors were tired for his performance. Not wanting to lose the attention of his visitors, Jim climbed to the top of the lion’s cage and danced to music. Again, the visitors loved the cute and brave “bear”. Of course, the zoo-keeper gave Jim a raise for doing such a good job. The crowds grew larger, and his pay kept going up. One day when Jim was dancing on the lion’s cage, he suddenly fell into the cage! Jim was so terrified and shouted, “Help me! Help me!”

A voice from the lion came to his ears, “Stop shouting! Do you want both of us lose the job?”