------Program code: NS-080819-01711 (what's this?)
Source: CCTV.com
08-19-2008 09:38
Grey squirrels are extremely clever about gathering nuts. Before winter, a squirrel usually prepares 50 to 60 granaries like this, each storing 20 to 50 pine nuts.
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The Eurasian nutcracker can store over 20,000 Korean pine seeds, enough for the whole year. In fact, it will only finish half of them; the rest will go into the soil.
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Korean pine nuts contain a lot of oil, and can provide all the calories some animals need to see them through the winter. But the pine nuts need the animals, too, if they are to find their way into the soil and eventually sprout. Thus a remarkable relationship of mutual benefit has grown up between the forest dwellers and the Korean pines.
The pine cone is the only nut black bears can eat.
Although it may not be obvious, being consumed like this is good for the Korean pine, because many of the nuts fall to the ground while it’s being eaten. These nuts thus get the chance to sprout.
Wild boars are also attracted by the fragrance. Their habit of wallowing in the earth prepares it nicely for the nuts to sprout.
After the wild boars, the Northeast tigers arrive.
The wild boars are by nature vigilant. They quickly become aware of the approaching enemy and make their escape in good time.
The Northeast tiger is king of the northern forests. As the largest feline in the world, it stands at the top of the food chain in the forests.
The rich variety of food in the broad-leaf and Korean pine mixed forest supports over 50 species of mammal – a greater variety than anywhere else on the same latitude.
However, the arrival of some unexpected visitors disturbs the tranquility and relative prosperity of the forests.
The pleasant flavour and the abundance of Korean pine nuts attract the pine cone gatherers. They come soon after the first seeds have ripened.
The price of pine nuts has been high in recent years. So pine nut gathering has been highly lucrative for the local people.
They camp on the spot where earlier the forest dwellers held their banquet.
Soon three hundred thousand pine cones are piled by the camp.
As soon as the men leave the camp, the animals gather to continue their banquet.
However, their enjoyment is to be short-lived. Soon the cones will be carried off to the cities.
Even the black bears escape into the forests at the sound of the approaching carts.
Human activity has disturbed the equilibrium in the primitive forest. Because of it, the animals can’t get enough food or store enough fat for the winter. They are facing the winter, unprepared.
The large-scale removal of the cones also disrupts the reproductive cycle of the Korean pines. However, it will be a long time before the full scale of the problem is revealed.
In early October, the first snow falls in the forest, and the temperature drops to 10 degrees below zero. By now, the human nut gatherers have left with their spoils.
The young Korean pine is suffering through its first winter. Its branches are still very young, and it may be in fatal danger if it is exposed to the air for too long.
Editor:Yang
