The Four-Eyed Spotted Turtle
The two pairs of rings on the back of the head, the face The beautiful pattern looks like four eyes staring straight at you. This is a kind of mysterious turtle, and it is even so shy that it never lets people see it eating. It is this kind of turtle that lives in Hainan.
The four-eyed turtle is a freshwater turtle that lives in mountainous rivers. This turtle is known for its small size, alertness and special colorful patterns on its head and back. And highly valued by people. In 2001, when I was inspecting specimens at the University of California, Berkeley, I noticed a strange appearance. The colorful American turtle aroused my great interest. One of my traveling companions, Jim, told me. His favorite turtle is a Chinese turtle called the "four-eyed turtle". It is a creature that is so strange that it is hard to imagine. Their customs and destiny are full of mystery, and these have become the basis of this turtle. This is what you have been thinking about and striving for over the past few years.
1. Effort: What can’t be studied, but turtles?
In 1997, I participated in the work of the National Wildlife Census in Hainan Province. Everywhere I went I took advantage of every opportunity to learn about the turtle's condition. Because Hainan Island turtles are rich in species, accounting for half of our country’s turtles, many locals cannot understand these turtles separately. When you show a single photo, they all say it is scattered. After showing many photos, they start to scratch their heads and feel conflicted. Moreover, I am not familiar with the local names of these turtles, and the locals cannot accurately describe their typical characteristics, so it is really difficult to change them. Several well-intentioned friends advised me: "A large group of us went all over the island and only found two turtles. The turtles in China have long been eaten. What can't we study? We must study turtles?"< /p>
Based on my past experience of studying four-clawed tortoises in Xinjiang and red-bellied pyramids in Guizhou, I believe that the methods of investigating different species are very different. If not Understand the research object deeply, especially species with special habits like turtles. If you use the method of watching birds and looking for snakes, it will definitely be difficult to see turtles. Moreover, our country currently does not have experts who are specialized in studying the wild ecology of turtles. Due to the lack of scientific data, there is no basis for the protection of turtles. As a result, this precious resource is suffering great damage. I am convinced that it shouldCan create a turtle population worth maintaining.
2. Turning point: You are so lucky, this is the occasion you have dreamed of
The daily inspection tasks during the Wild Animal Census were very arduous. Most of the birds recorded were birds observed through telescopes, which had become rigid and clumsy in response to the surrounding environment due to fatigue. However, during an inspection in the Wanling area of Qiongzhong County in 1997, I found that the situation here was somewhat strange. Low mountains, rice fields, mountain streams, and pools, these kinds of scenery can be seen everywhere in Hainan, but they are all gathered together. There is something new about joining a group, and it seems like we have known each other before. Suddenly I had a newfound excitement. Yes, this should be the environment that I had seen in books and often imagined, which is suitable for the survival of freshwater turtles.
I stopped and looked around quietly, as if many turtles appeared for a while, my consciousness gradually understood, and my belief was very firm. In the evening, I finally found a local man. He was the leader of the local Roman village, his name was Wang Shanmin. He told me that there were several species of turtles here, and there used to be a lot of them. He had been able to catch turtles for many years, and he still had a few painted turtles on hand. You are so lucky, this is your dream situation.
3. Encounter: God, this is the four-eyed turtle!
Bought a batch of iron cages and shovels, and made all preparations. On the first day of the winter vacation in 1998, I took three disciples to the Roman Village. An expert leader led us to dig holes, put out bait, and inspect every day. I've seen a lot of this kind of trap for catching turtles on the mountains around Diaoluo Mountain, and it's said to be quite effective. But more than ten days have passed, and we have gained nothing. Several brothers of Lao Wang's family have gone out to do business, and there is enough space to entertain us. However, it is the custom in Hainan to sleep without a mattress. The temperature in these weather conditions is as low as about 10 degrees Celsius. Sleeping on a mat in the cold weather, folding oneself into a fold and curling up tightly every night, is really uncomfortable. Turtles with such a temperature are less active and have no progress in their work. How can students succeed in their graduation thesis? Misfortunes are not always possible. When it was heard that we would not stop field research and work during the Spring Festival, the director of the village committee Wang Renshan was anxious. He It is said that you are almost crazy. While others go all the way home to celebrate the New Year, you are doing research in this poor valley. This is too unimaginable.
Then he said very sternly, I have established a military order for the Spring Festival period. Everyone in the current society has it. You four young people are celebrating the New Year in the village. , this behavior makes me suspect that you are an unstable factor. In various helpless situations, I repeatedly came toThe town explained the situation to the chief of the police station and the secretary of the town party committee. But in the end, because the landlord said that he could not arrange to stay overnight on New Year's Eve, he had to put down his work all day before the Spring Festival. After this year, I am one year older and a lot wiser. Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, we changed the capture method, abandoning traps and iron cages, and replaced them with bamboo cages buried in the water. Time paid off. After catching a large number of crabs, one morning when we lifted the cage, a beautiful four-eyed turtle appeared in front of us like a visitor from outside. God, this is the four-eyed turtle. turtle.
Four. Tracking: We have become clairvoyant and attentive
Method We are on the right track, and we will continue to have success in the following days, but what kind of effective research will be done next? We searched around the river and selected a natural habitat that we thought was excellent for the four-eyed turtle, and started building a fence. Due to tight funds and unable to afford steel bars, we looked for bamboo ourselves. The house is made of some dead wood tangled with rattan and covered with cow felt, and the bed is a mat made of four wooden sticks supported by straw. Located in the hot Hainan, eggs can be cooked under the hot sunshine, and our black cow felt room has truly become a "sauna". But what makes us even more anxious is that the naturally introverted four-eyed turtle remains motionless all day long except for its efforts to escape from the circle. Many days have passed, and the disciple's record only has the same sentence: "This place does not move." It seems that the four-eyed turtle is completely different from the four-clawed tortoise. It is impossible to apply the past methods based on experience. Change the way! "Stop life" and conduct wilderness tracking surveys. However, turtles cannot follow directions at all paces, and there are piles of rocks in the stream with numerous pores, lush vegetation and obstacles on both sides. Once it is abandoned, where can it be found?
There are always more solutions than difficulties. We tied a red nylon rope to the edge of the turtle, so that no matter where it got into the cracks of rocks or under the grass, it would be safe. The sign at the end of the rope will tell us its movement status. Just when we were satisfied with our smart ideas, a piece of news made us dumbfounded-all the turtles were lost! What's going on? I don’t know why all our red ropes were cut, and not a single turtle was found. Your disciple Cheng Wang was anxious and asked you to protect him from being stolen, because he was waiting there 24 hours a day and night. At this time, none of us could withstand this attack. While considering countermeasures, Cheng Wangxing, who had not slept all night, touched the cracks in the rocks and finally pulled out 4 turtles. Although none of them were lost by us, there were finally some. Study the material.
The energy burst out by people in extraordinary times is beyond imagination. I am surprised and admired by this action and this result. We soon realized that this was probably caused by crabs, so we immediately replaced it with a colorful rope that was very soft and difficult to be cut. 1 of the 4 four-eyed turtlesTwo years later, he was arrested again by Shen.
Research has found that the four-eyed turtle moves day and night, and the peak of its movement is at night. It is invisible at night in the mountains. Using a flashlight will disturb it, so there is no need for a flashlight. Information is not available either. We tried luminous films and also considered making a small special pager to install on the turtle, but in the end we failed. After a year of exploration, we used light-emitting diodes to control the sign lights, and we can understand the movement status of a certain turtle in the dark night. But with a research span of several kilometers, how do we know where the turtles have fled? Radio telemetry equipment is the best way to solve this problem. From 1993 to 1994, I studied red-bellied pyramids in Guizhou for more than 10 months, and I always used this kind of equipment. This situation has never been considered due to financial reasons. This situation has been completely improved since 1999 with the support of the National Natural Science Foundation and the Hainan Provincial Center for Ecology. Coupled with night vision goggles, it is really a complete weapon. The advanced equipment makes us clairvoyant and easy to listen to.
The advanced equipment really made my assistants and disciples sigh for a while, and they even thought that "no equipment means nothing". But within a few days they stopped laughing, because our goal was not to play hide and seek with the turtle, we could just look for it everywhere at any time. The first thing we want to find out is what do they eat? How do they reproduce? The former allows existing life to be protected, and the latter allows future populations to continue, which is the most critical for all species. However, the four-eyed fish, which is naturally alert, will not perform any actions for you to see except paying attention in front of people, let alone eating and laying eggs.
5. Food habits: No matter what, you can look at the food from the feces
What do the four-eyed terrapins eat? At first, the turtle we caught didn’t show its “mouth-respecting” expression even when we thought it was going to starve to death. Looking through the documents at hand, almost all of them are the same: "eating small fish, shrimps, and small frogs, or feeding chickens and pig offal, rice, noodles, etc." To start with, the only way is to find another way. When we used a medical soft tube to extract the first batch of food from the stomach of the four-eyed water turtle, no one expected that it was all spirogyra. Stepping on moss-covered stones every day, how could you not realize that this might dry up its food? Gradually, more and more methods were adopted, and later, the forced method of stomach pumping, which was considered harmful to the turtle, was rarely used. And more dietary materials are obtained from their feces.
Four-eyed turtles have just been exposed and often have a stress response - defecation. The feces thus eliminated have low digestibility, so we collect them. Place it on gauze, wash it in a bowl, and chop different leaves into pieces.According to the color and size of pieces and insect limbs, it is easier to collect complete specimens of the same species for identification. Because there were many opportunities to catch them, data on their feeding habits gradually gathered together.
In the study, it was found that the food habits of the four-eyed water turtles vary greatly depending on the season. Spirogyra is more common in summer and autumn food, while the fruit of Ficus macrocarpa is a kind of food. Important foods. After long-term friendly exchanges, the four-eyed turtle seemed to feel our good intentions, and sometimes allowed us to watch the wonderful clips of it feeding through binoculars and night vision. After watching it, we realized how smart and fast it is. , how to catch small fish.
6. Growth: Searching for turtle eggs on a large scale
One of our local employees, A Zhuang, told me that he once saw a four-eyed turtle in the recess of a big rock, with several eggs under the dead leaves behind it. A Zhuang has many years of experience in catching turtles. For a few years, he even gave up farming and caught turtles. Several people went to collect food and lived in the mountains. He said that he could catch a "money turtle" (Chinese name "Sanxianguan" in Chinese) in a year. Shell turtle") is also better than plowing the fields. Without any documentation, A Zhuang's words became "golden words". Each of us took a flashlight and checked all the stones on both sides of the stream several times, but found nothing. Documents record that many turtles lay their eggs in the sand. Maybe we should dig through the sand. Even if we find a nest, we will know the approximate location and season of laying eggs, which will be easier to do from now on. So we turned over all the sand on both sides of the stream again. The egg-laying period of ordinary turtles should last for several months. Maybe we have just turned over it and there will be turtles laying eggs? We are not afraid of 10,000, just afraid of what if. With this doubt, we turned over it several times. I told my assistants and disciples that scientific research cannot rely too much on experience and prediction. Only by breaking through conventional thinking can we make breakthroughs. From now on, what I can be sure of is that the four-eyed water turtle will definitely lay eggs. There is no need to open stones to find eggs. You need to climb up the treetops to find eggs, but other than that, you have to take everything into consideration. Maybe it's not the egg-laying season, maybe it doesn't build a nest close to the shore, or maybe it happens not to be where we roll around all day. Spawn in sand. That's it. We have started a larger-scale search again. Clothes should be soaked thoroughly every day. Take it off and twist it, it makes a squeaking sound. When I sit down to catch my breath every day, I study plans, including how to train a few dogs to search for eggs, or to create an "egg detector" similar to a "mine detector"... No matter how I use my brain to think about it, Strength, still nothing.
In desperation, we adopted semi-forced measures and built a new artificial fence, 1/4 of which was in the natural stream where it lives, and 3/4 of which spread to ashore. There are 6 different environmental communities arranged on the shore: completely natural vegetation; those without lush grass; those with loose soil; those with mudThere are mixed sand, pure sand and many large rocks. They put 10 turtles into it and built an observation tent on the tall tree branch above. They monitored it day and night for several months, hoping for a mysterious discovery.
Human patience has its limits, and besides, it’s a bit silly to wait all the time. Finally, one day I ordered the entire circle to be excavated. The first thing that started was the sand that we predicted was more likely. After just two shovels, a snow-white egg jumped into my eyes. Egg! Everyone screamed in unison and knelt down in unison, but no one dared to make a move. I slowly pushed the soft sand with my hands, 2, 3, 5 in total! "Bring the female turtle." As soon as I said this, the disciple handed an adult turtle into my hands. I took the eggs in one hand and the turtle in the other, snapping and patting at the eggs. Is it really so easy to get the things you dream of? I keep in mind that the record of the four-eyed water turtle laying eggs indoors is 4cm long and 2cm wide, and the number is only 1 or 2, and these eggs are less than half the size of the record. Although this record has not been successfully developed, there is no success. Although they belong to the same species, will there be such a big difference in the biological characteristics? One student said, "I am skeptical about this record. For a small individual like the four-eyed water turtle, the rear edges of the back and plastron are like this." It is impossible to lay such large eggs in a small interval. Besides, the number of eggs is large and the number of eggs is relatively large, which makes sense." A Zhuang, who claimed to have seen four-eyed water turtle eggs, also echoed this. Said it was the egg of a four-eyed turtle. They were so impatient, but I calmed down and became more aware. I no longer held the eggs in my hands too carefully. When I picked up an egg and was about to shine it in the sun, I suddenly solemnly announced "This is not a four-eyed terrapin egg." No one agreed with me, even though I was supreme in this small group, and no one expressed any disapproval. Perhaps because of my very deep and firm tone, everyone looked at me with indescribable eyes. "This egg has a soft shell, so it should be the egg of a lizard. Turtle eggs have a hard shell." In this case, open one and see what happens. The small lizard inside the egg has a very long tail. This is the egg of the chameleon. Looking at my companions like deflated rubber balls, I forced everyone to encourage them: "You can definitely find the turtle eggs, but it's just a matter of time. Today we are just chasing rabbits, and we have an unexpected harvest. This There is also a gap in the research of species, and this harvest is also valuable. "Come and dig again!" 2 nests, 3 nests, and actually 6 nests were dug. It is true that the flowers planted deliberately do not bloom, and the willows planted unintentionally create shade.
After repeated ups and downs, we no longer carry out large-scale egg excavations. This is too laborious and wastes money, so other measures must be considered. At that time, the conditions (funding) had already been considered. Lao Liangman loves to joke with people. Not long after that, we unexpectedly found two four-eyed water turtle eggs, both of which had broken out of their shells. One was old and probably was for many years, and the other was white and bright, maybe. Turtle Boy just couldn't leave KaiLong. I looked at the two empty eggshells with mixed emotions and said lowly: "Well, it works, but we will never be satisfied with this small reward."
< strong>7. For random thoughts, give me a batch of four-eye spots in September 1999. The water turtle and the Chinese flower turtle came to Hainan Medical College. The people in the B-ultrasound room couldn't help hearing our low-confidence testimonials, "This is a place for people to do B-ultrasound, and people come in turns. How can we arrange it?" "Where's the turtle?" I was really worried about them and said, "How can we let the 'rascal' be on the same stage with others for inspection?" It's funny, but the medical school has a very good collegiality style and supports reporting to leaders. Director Zeng in the B-ultrasound room is very kind, patient, and highly skilled. We look forward to getting off work with excitement. Turtle finally got into bed. Director Zeng often said: "I have done countless things for people, and this is the first time I have done it to a turtle." There are several optical probes, large, medium and small. The large probe cannot detect the shell, and the small gap between the turtle plates cannot detect the rat's nest. The medium-sized probe cannot be used, so it is best to use the small one. "This small one is a vaginal probe, one costs hundreds of thousands." Director Zeng shook his head as he spoke. You and your disciples stood aside and didn't dare to say anything, but our desires were very clear. After cleaning the turtle to ensure that there was no sand, Director Zeng put two condoms on the probe and touched it with a thick layer of lubricating oil. A fan-shaped image area appeared on the screen, and the six eyes were firmly locked on the screen. Alas, who seems to be? No, it is a bubble. Is this? No, it's intestines, it's bones. Because of the placement of the probe target, it changes shape or no longer exists. Each turtle takes turns sleeping. Suddenly, everyone exclaimed at the same time, this must be! Yes, this time it is really a standard oval shape, at least three of them were seen. Director Zeng excitedly began to mark, measure, save and print on the screen. I looked back and saw that it was a Chinese turtle. Yes! Although it is not the focus of our study, it can be regarded as an unexpected harvest. Once reborn, second time familiar, after that every half month we would carry all the "seeded players" from the mountains in Qiongzhong back to Haikou, 200 kilometers away, and toss Director Zeng until midnight. Even though we tried to go to the nearby county hospital for inspection, there was no small probe there, so the method of putting the turtle in the water without directly attaching it to the groin was not enough. Because their equipment was not efficient enough, the small county town was still unable to do so. Not even close. However, after the hard shell, dry X-ray fluoroscopy is still possible.
Spring 2000. We placed radiators on the two turtles whose eggs were detected on the 6th and 9th, and tracked them day and night. The two turtles separated and laid their eggs on the shore of the fishing pond, but not in soft sand but in hard soil. As soon as autumn came this year, we also adopted the B-ultrasound test of "early check, early understanding" and found that 12 four-eyed turtles had eggs! Subsequent X-rays correctlyThe number of eggs was counted. Install new emitters and new light-emitting diodes to make all preparations. In the first two to three months, the tracking was continued 24 hours a day, on February 21st. When I had just returned home after more than a month of academic research in the United States, my assistant called me from the wilderness and excitedly told me, “Eggs are laid!” The first spawning occurred on January 24, which is when It was late at night, because I didn’t understand it, was too excited, and frightened it by following too closely during the night. The first clutch of eggs was actually laid on February 5th. February 5th, God! At first our guess was that spawning would begin in March after the beginning of spring. This turtle is completely different from the Chinese painted turtle, three-line shell turtle, and yellow-throated water turtle that are scattered in the same area. When other turtles start laying eggs in March to April, they have already stopped all of this.
Turtle eggs are laid near the roots of trees near the river bank or in the grass. In the past, it was considered to be a place with many grass roots and difficult to dig. None of the eggs were laid in the soft sand. Hit! The egg was laid. Is the egg fertilized? Is it successfully hatched? Once one method is implemented, another method that does not require all thinking will appear immediately. Pleasure and excitement were quickly replaced by anxious anticipation. If we cannot successfully incubate it, is there any value to all our hard work ahead? I wanted to see the cute little life break out of its shell. I imagined that an egg was buried in the soil, and a few dawns turned into a vivid little turtle. This should be such a mysterious and unimaginable moment. Fu Binglong, a worker we hired for a long time, optimistically told me that when you come back from a business trip in Australia, you may only see lively little turtle hatchlings and miss out on the wonderful shell-breaking process. If so, I will be very happy because they hatch successfully. But the actual situation is far from this. Two months have passed and there has been no movement. If the eggs of the turtle were found, the baby turtle would have run away without a trace. In the past, I didn't dare to touch them casually, but Tiantianjia repeatedly checked the temperature, hoping to see the unearthed baby turtles. How long do we have to wait? We can't wait any longer. I ordered the second nest to be opened and taken a look. The eggs were covered in a sealed wire mesh to prevent snakes, mice, etc. from invading, and at the same time, the hatchlings would not run away early. We Still waiting stupidly. The eggs are clear white, the ring in the center remains, and there is no peculiar smell, just like normal. Wait! Three months have passed and there is still no news. We are a little bit unable to sit still. Four American turtle experts, including Dr. Kurt Buhlmman, who came to our field service site for inspection, looked at several nests and concluded that the eggs were normal and we should continue to wait patiently. In fact, is there any other option besides waiting?
It takes 4 and a half months from the first day of laying to the first egg to break out of the shell. The long grain-shaped egg first cracks vertically, and the shell of the hatchling is Soft and curled downward, it seems to be in no hurry to leave its swaddling clothes. Its small black eyes curiously change its gaze within the cracks in its shell, which is really cute. An egg, a shell of liquid, randomly scattered in the soil, will undergo so many subtle changes after a period of time. The emergence of life is almost a shock to us, making us feel the grandeur of life.The greatness and preciousness also inspire our interest in exploring life.
11 hatchlings were successfully hatched and now live in our wilderness research site, where humans and turtles live together. The water they drink and the food they eat have been cultivated by their ancestors for generations. The difference is that these little guys are lively and active, far less introverted and introverted than their parents.
8. Memories: bitter and sweet, walking with turtles
Looking back on the research process in the past few years, I have really suffered a lot. The living habits of the "four-eyed spotted water turtle" and the "four-clawed tortoise" are completely different. Four-clawed tortoises only come out for exercise in March every year. Most turtles are already buried in the ground in July. They hibernate continuously and burrow deeper and deeper, reaching one or two meters below the earth. They don't "get up" until 8 to 9 o'clock in the morning, and take a nap at noon for at least 1 to 2 hours. After the sun sets, they go to the cave to rest. The four-eyed turtle is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and its peak activity is at night. Who can afford this kind of consumption? The four-clawed tortoise is very carefree and does whatever it wants in front of you. You can count what it has eaten and how many bites it has taken. During the mating season, male turtles are even more "arrogant", and their mating sounds can be heard far away. Occasionally Iqi joked: "With the audience's appreciation, they can perform harder." However, the four-eyed terrapin can barely show its head for several hours if touched. If there is any action, it will run away without any thought of safety. Who can have the patience to guard it?
Not only that, there are also many scary moments at work. During the rainy season, especially from May to September, we often encounter heavy rains, and the water in the streams In an instant, it will be full from the knees down to the top. In some places, the dead branches and leaves hanging on the treetops prove that the maximum water level is more than 3 meters than usual. The force of the water is frightening. We think that a rock-solid fence can be instantly washed away, and a steel bar as thick as an index finger can be bent. Naturally, not a single turtle in the circle is left. Now I have some experience. When encountering such a situation, I will pick out the turtles in the circle first. However, there was an almost accident. Not all turtles were found, and the water reached the chest. If this area was a rapids area, the consequences would be unimaginable. Fortunately, we no longer need that circle at all. On the one hand, many turtles wear radiators, and on the other hand, it is difficult to escape from the creek anyway. They should be able to live healthier if they live free.
Mosquitoes in the hot weather are very powerful. One night, I was explaining to my students how to use the global satellite locator and radio receiver. After a while, there were more than 90 red envelopes on both ankles. The bite of the vampire locust is completely suitable for me, just bite it, "take it from nature, give back to nature", anyway, I am not short of this blood. The poisonous nature of centipedes makes youHelpers are lifelong forgetful. But what makes me most unsure and often worried is the threat of poisonous snakes. We caught two bungaras in the room, a "soldering iron head" crawled over my student's feet while having dinner at the door, and a king cobra not far from the house. I am not afraid of venomous snakes. I have seen many grass vipers in Xinjiang and green bamboo leaves in Guizhou. If I am afraid of this, I am also afraid of that. How can I do work in the wilderness? This is how I encouraged my disciples at first, but now I think about it, it is just like a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. The more he sees and hears, the less courage he will have. This is not true at all.
It is really difficult to study turtles, and it is even more difficult to study freshwater turtles in hot weather. No wonder there have been very few people in China who have devoted themselves to studying turtles for many years. There are many turtles in China, but the damage is very serious. Due to lack of research, there is no basis for maintenance. Therefore, it is particularly crucial and urgent to strengthen research in this area and cultivate a team. Our research has just begun, and my assistants and disciples have paid unimaginable difficulties for it. I write this article and hope to be a comfort and encouragement to them.
(This is published in "Man and the Biosphere" Issue 6, 2002)
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