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Swans left with no water
By Xie Chunjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-25 22:09
Hundreds of swans in Chengshanwei Town in East China's Shandong Province are
in danger this year, jeopardized by a lack of fresh water.
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| Swans flock to Rongcheng Swan Lake in East China's Shandong
Province last year to tide themselves over during the harsh winter. Each
November, swans fly to the lake from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region and Siberia in Russia for the winter.[newsphoto]
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"Since last week several swans have died of thirst, and the
number is increasing as the weather gets ice-cold," said Yuan Xueshun, director
of Weihai Swan Protection Association.
For the past 30 years, Yuan has been a full-time swan watcher. He lives only
a kilometer away from the swan lake.
"Swans live in this place. They have been standing here and waiting for fresh
water for several days. They just won't leave their home," Yuan said.
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| The lake bed cracks after silt was dug out.
[newsphoto] | Construction projects near the
Rongcheng Swan Lake in the past four years are blamed for the lack of water,
said the local Qilu Evening Newspaper.
Rongcheng's forestry department said yesterday they are making efforts to
introduce fresh water to save the swans.
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| Many swans died. [newsphoto] | The renowned
Rongcheng Swan Lake is surrounded by pine trees and reeds. It contains a variety
of small creatures and seaweed that swans eat.
In November, swans come to the lake for winter from China's Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region and Russia's Siberia.
In 1992, the number of swans in the lake was more than 6,000. The number was
down to 400 last year and 600 this time around.
Nearby the swan lake, 70 hectares of natural wetland made of sand and mud
ensured a reserve of freshwater for swans. Those wetlands are also a rich source
of algae and seashells.
Swans drink freshwater and eat the algae and seashells.
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| Yuan Xueshun, a fulltime swan watcher now raises
several injured swan home. [newsphoto]
| Over the past several years, a series of "swan lake
comprehensive development" projects have destroyed the natural environment, the
local paper said.
Silt at the bottom of the lake was dug out, making it very difficult for
swans to search for food.
The black silt pulled from the lake was piled up at random above the nearby
wetland, that swans have lived on in the past.
In the past four years the silt has piled up to more than 2 metres
thick.
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