Across China: The fight against poachers in SW China

Over the past 22 years, Yu Jiahua, 65, has spent several days every month patrolling a mountain looking for poachers in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Jiuding Mountain, a 10 minute walk from Yu's village, is surrounded by hundreds of square meters of forest and has many wild animals.

"In the 1960s, there were hundreds of thousands of wild animals," Yu said.

Yu was born in a small village and can identify animals just by the footprints. His family also used to hunt.

"We hunted birds and animals before, but we had rules." Yu said. "We never hunted young or female animals."

Since the 1980s, many illegal hunters have flocked to Jiuding Mountain and poached large numbers of wild animals to sell them. Many poachers even set the mountain on fire, forcing the animals to flee so they can catch them.

"The escaped animals were killed by illegal hunters waiting at the foot of the mountain and those trapped in fire burned to death. Their screams made your toes curl," Yu said.

Poachers also used wire ropes, not traditional hemp ropes, to set traps, leaving no opportunities for animals to escape.

Such unsustainable hunting had left the mountain almost empty of wild animals by 1994.

In 1995, Yu, his brother and some villagers organized a patrol team to drive the poachers away, but animal hunting was a way for many people to make money. It was not easy to stop them, and Yu and his team would encounter dangers on patrol.

Yu still remembers the four poachers with shotguns that threatened to kill him.

"I will shoot you if you stop me," a poacher shouted.

To expand the patrol team, Yu established a wild animal and plant protection association in 2004, attracting more than 100 people to join.

Since then, the team has patrolled the mountain more than 10 times every year.

"On the one hand, we continue to stop illegal hunting. On the other hand, we monitor the latest information about wild animals in the region," Yu said.

Several years ago, Yu set up infrared cameras on the mountain to track endangered animals.

Thanks to his anti-poaching group, illegal hunting has fallen dramatically over the last 22 years.

"Farmers now have more methods to make money. Illegal hunting is decreasing, but not disappearing," Yu said. He even found a shotgun left in a cave on his latest mountain patrol.

The number of wild animals on the mountain is slowly increasing.

"There were less than 10 golden pheasants in 1995, but now the number has risen to 700," Yu said.

Yu's sons and grandsons have all joined the patrol team, which is supported by government subsidies as well as donations.

"It will take a long time to restore the ecosystem," Yu said. "Guarding the mountain has become our family mission, and we will not give up halfway." Endi