Przewalski's horses graze at the acclimatisation enclosure in the early morning hours at the Takhin Tal National Park, part of the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area, in south-west Mongolia, June 23, 2017. [Photo/VCG] Fifteen Przewalski's horses, the world's only surviving subspecies of wild horse, were released into a nature reserve in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Sept 27, as part of efforts to protect the rare subspecies from extinction. The group includes six stallions and nine mares, and for the first time researchers released five horses over 20 years old, equivalent to a person aged 70 to 80, according to Zhang Hefan, chief engineer of the Wild Horse Breeding Center based in Xinjiang. In the past, we selected only among the young and strong horses, usually between 0 and 13 years old, because old animals were more likely to die in the wild, she said. But the center's researchers believed that it is time to try again, since a stable natural population has formed in the wild thanks to years of preservation efforts. We have 221 horses in the wild now, accounting for half the population of the center. We believe the environment has become more supportive to help the old ones survive, she said. Protection of Przewalski's horses dates back to the 1980s. The wild horse is believed to be even rarer than the giant panda, since its current population worldwide is estimated at about 2,000. Native to China, the animal was on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature from the 1960s to 1996. Then it was reassessed as critically endangered due to successful reintroductions. China imported 18 wild horses in 1985 from a number of countries and built a wild horse breeding center for their preservation. The center now has 411 wild horses. Since 2001, the center has started to release wild horses into the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in Xinjiang, which spans more than 1.7 million hectares. The horses are first put into a 200-hectare enclosure so they can adapt before beginning to live in the wilderness. Living in natural habitats will help enlarge the gene pool and improve its ability to survive, Zhang said. cool silicone wristbands for guyscool bracelets to make with rubber bandswristbands online coupon codewhere to buy rubber band bracelet kitanimal bracelets rubber bands
BEIJING -- China has developed its first civilian unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, with a ducted fan system.The drone, which looks like a rice cooker, made its debut and soon become one of the stars at the 19th Hobby Expo China held in Beijing from April 20 to 22.Developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Co Ltd (CASIC), the drone weights just 280 grams and is small enough to fit in the palm of the hand.He Yu, an engineer at CASIC, said the ducted fan system enables the drone to take off vertically and land in a narrow space.Developers also located the drone's rotor inside the duct, which can prevent the rotor being damaged during flight.The power efficiency of the drone is about 30 percent higher than common drones with four or six axes, as its power system is similar to a carrier rocket, said Zhao Tianlong, a member of the research team.The ducted fan drone has potential applications in search and rescue, reconnaissance in complex environments, indoor security, pipeline inspection, scientific research, and flight performance, said He.
