The ultimate experience of five days and four nights of scientific research through Altun no man's land, primitive animal paradise and off-road vehicle

This trip is to Isuzu, Jiangxi and chinese national geography.

Joint scientific research project

The expedition entered the reserve after strict examination and approval procedures.

Under the natural conditions of not actively invading wild animals

Take scientific research photos

Among the four famous no-man's land areas in China, the most well-known one is Hoh Xil, whose film of the same name restores the heroic deeds of Sonam Dajie, secretary of the local western working committee, who sacrificed himself to protect Tibetan antelopes from poaching, and arouses people's concern about plateau ecological protection. Little is known to outsiders, but the most widely distributed wild animal represented by wild yak is Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve. It is located at the junction of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet, with a total area of about 45,000 square kilometers and an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters. It is remote, cold and oxygen-deficient, and inaccessible, but it also retains many rare wild animals unique to China.

Surrounded by mountains, glaciers, plateau lakes and deserts complement each other, and a wide variety of rare birds and animals live freely. Unless you come here in person, it is hard to imagine such a shocking natural environment in the world.

Wild yak, as a unique breed of cattle in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is widely distributed in plateau areas above 3000 meters above sea level. It is the largest and most widely distributed herbivore, and it is also one of the important species used to investigate and evaluate the ecological balance of plateau.

After five days and four nights of * * line investigation, the expedition team monitored more than 600 wild yaks, 2 brown bears, 7 wolves, more than 0/000 Tibetan wild donkeys, more than 0/000 Tibetan antelopes, more than 0/000 Tibetan gazelles, and more than 0/000 blue sheep. The survey data of these transects are also important reference materials for daily monitoring of ecological changes in protected areas.

Starting from Huatugou, heading southwest, and passing through the Atatihan River Estuary checkpoint, you will officially enter the Altun Mountain no man's land. Continue along Shizilu Township Road to Qimantage Township, where the central station of Altun Mountain Reserve is located. Qimantage Township is located in Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang, with an area of more than 60,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the size of four Beijing cities. However, the land is vast and sparsely populated, with only a few hundred people in the most populous period in history. Because of the harsh environment, cold and lack of oxygen, only about the same herdsmen are stationed here at present.

Say goodbye to external signals and throw yourself into the embrace of the wilderness. The dry gravel road was dusty under the wheels, and the Tibetan wild donkey, known for its stubbornness, became the first wild animal to break into the field of vision. The smoke rolled up by the motorcade was found by the Tibetan wild donkey far away. Race with intruders and race at high speed, you must cross the front of the car obliquely. This is a scene that will happen every time you meet a stubborn donkey in no man's land. So the team slowed down and let the Tibetan wild donkey win the "race" smoothly. As a group of Tibetan wild donkeys face the sunset and look around, the originally lonely wasteland suddenly becomes vivid under the golden light.

Sporadic wild yaks appear from time to time on the distant ridge. The expedition began to record the population and the location of discovery. More importantly, it took out its camera and captured the original harmony under the golden light.

A few kilometers ahead, the sun was setting, and when the last ray of sunshine was about to drown in the horizon, the voice of the first car suddenly came from the radio: "Attention! Attention! Two wolves were found at 2 o'clock in front of the right! " I looked there for the first time when I was driving car No.3. Two wolves clearly appeared in the field of vision 100 meters away, tall and straight, fat and strong, and looked at the motorcade with their heads held high and alert. I have also found traces of wolves in scientific research activities before, but the latter saw that the motorcade and the metropolis had escaped, leaving us with a hidden back. But this time is an exception, just waiting and seeing, and there is no intention of leaving.

"Two wolves are eating, and there are animal carcasses on the ground, but at present it is impossible to see whether the wild yak or the Tibetan wild donkey was killed. They are also used to this road, and there are occasional herders or vehicles in the reserve. " As Yong Cheng, the teacher of the first car, answered on the radio, everyone took out their binoculars and looked. Sure enough, there was an animal skeleton where the two wolves were. One wolf has been watching, and the other wolf continues to tear at the animal carcasses under his feet.

Maybe they are full of meat, or maybe they don't like us watching them shoot at a distance. After tearing off a large piece of meat, the two wolves unhurriedly hid in the grass behind them. "They will come back after we leave," explained Yong Cheng, a teacher who is familiar with Altun's animal habits again. So we got off the bus to find out, and when we got closer, we found that it was a Tibetan wild donkey that had died not long ago. Except that the donkey's head is still intact, the body has been basically hollowed out. According to Yong Cheng, the empty eye sockets are crows' masterpieces, and they like pecking nutritious eyes best. If you find a large flock of crows hovering in the reserve, like vultures, there must be dead animals below.

When I first entered Altun Mountain, I met this kind of law of the jungle scene. No man's land happens every day, but I am also dead and alive. Under the primitive laws of nature, the life of a Tibetan wild donkey is over, and life and death depend on each other in the food chain, and everything follows the most primitive life destination and natural cycle.

Spend the night at the central station of Qimantage Township Reserve. As winter approaches, the temperature is getting colder and colder. Even some herders have moved out of the relatively comfortable reserve for the winter, but there are still reserve staff stationed here. Although the conditions are better than when I came here a few years ago, they are still relatively simple compared with the outside world. The iron bed dormitory with bunk beds has also become the most comfortable night before we go deep into the reserve.

The next morning, we set off from Central Station, passed through Kumkuli Desert, and planned to reach the Kaldun grassland on the west side. To cross the desert, this road needs to cross the river many times, and the Kardon grassland with rich water and grass is also known as Masai Mara in the northern hemisphere, which is a paradise for wild animals to thrive naturally.

Kumkuli Desert, with a basal elevation of 3,900 meters and a highest elevation of nearly 4,800 meters, is the top of desert in the world. Fortunately, I came here with explorer and racer He Xudong on 20 18, found the highest point of Kumkuli Desert, and finally climbed to Sha Feng at an altitude of 4,768 m by bus. Because Altun Nature Reserve is remote and independent, it is little known at home, especially internationally.

Close to the glacier, the bottom of Kumukuri Desert is rich in glacial meltwater, which seeps from the surface of the desert to form spectacular sand springs and large and small sand lakes. Therefore, the Altun Mountain has snow-capped mountains, deserts, lakes, rivers and grasslands in the same place, plus the magnificent landscape of wild animals that set each other off. It is hard to believe that there is such a contradictory and unified natural scene in the world without seeing it with your own eyes.

Driving here, you can see wild yaks scattered on the sand mountain from time to time. The dark body is in sharp contrast with the golden sand. This barren land closest to the sky seems to contain infinite mystery. The day after that, we even found a brown bear running to the Kumukuri desert. The unimaginable scenes constantly impact our inherent cognition.

The water system around the desert is rich. I don't remember how many times I crossed the river on the way to Carlton Grassland. Fortunately, near winter, there is less water, mostly braided water system with a width of hundreds of meters, but there are also hidden dangers. Once you park your car carelessly, you risk getting stuck in the car.

When crossing a river hundreds of meters wide, a car got stuck before landing. Fortunately, it was within the radiation range of the winch of the car before landing, but the first rescue underestimated the power of the sticky river beach and directly pulled the winch cable. The second rescue, to be on the safe side, shoveled the soil in front of the trapped wheel with a shovel, and then successfully got out of trouble.

Arriving at Carlton Grassland Protection Station in the evening, there are only two simple board houses and a barely enclosed sheepfold, which is the only trace of human activities in the past day. After camping, at night, the stars filled the whole sky, as well as the Milky Way running through the sky, but the chill was unbearable and I got into the tent early.

On the third day, we continued to travel south along the Kumukuri desert and camped at the currently deserted Qiuerkaka Protection Station, which is also a place where bears often haunt. It is said that bears used to go into the kitchen of the protection station to look for food. When the staff of the protection station went out to patrol, their homes were often robbed by brown bears and caught by the staff of the protection station who had just returned. When describing the bear's escape, he did not forget to carry the food bag pulled out of the house. running all the way's funny scene made people laugh. On the way back, I was very lucky to capture the bear scene twice.

But in no man's land, the biggest threat to human beings is not wolves or bears, only wild yaks. Neither wolf nor bear will take the initiative to attack people. As long as they don't meet at a short distance, they will take the initiative to avoid seeing human beings. But when a single wild yak intrudes into a certain range of its activities, it will take the initiative to attack people or vehicles. In the face of the impact of two or three tons of wild yak running at high speed, it is absolutely impossible to get away with it once it is recruited. Once a single wild yak's eyes are found and its tail is cocked, the only correct way is to avoid it as soon as possible. Even if the motorcade keeps a safe distance from individual wild yaks at all times, it is also chased by wild yaks.

As a continuation of the series of scientific research activities of Isuzu in Jiangxi and Wan Li in chinese national geography to explore China, this trip has been a scientific research activity at 1 1 station for three consecutive years, and the scientific research has passed through the no-man's land and plateau in western China all the year round. Mu-X shepherd ranger explained the strength of scientific research SUV with practical actions.

Crossing the hard plateau, vehicles are the most important tools and partners, and the only basic guarantee that can bring us in and out. Unfortunately, because of the National Sixth Policy, 4J 1 the original 3.0T model has bid farewell to the market. Except for three D-MAX vehicles loaded with daily necessities, all scientific research vehicles in the third quarter are 1.9T mu-X Rangers, with a maximum torque of 360 N m. Although there will inevitably be power attenuation in the no-man's land above 4000m, it fully meets the needs of scientific research crossing.

Driving for five days and four nights is almost the whole journey, especially in the small terrain structure where the average speed in the wilderness is less than 30 km/h. In the manual mode of high-speed four-wheel drive, the diesel engine can stably play the characteristics of low speed and high torque, and it is also handy when crossing ravines and climbing steep slopes, even if it continues to board at an altitude of nearly 4900m in the second half.

There are two ways to actively promote DPF regeneration when DPF blockage occurs and there is no self-cleaning. One is to keep the vehicle speed above 50km/h 15min, and it is better to keep the engine speed above 3000 r/min in manual mode for a period of time when conditions are not allowed, for example, in the case of unpaved road conditions, so as to improve the exhaust temperature.

In addition, there is good news. The latest overseas 4JJ3 engine will also enter China next year, and the mu-X Ranger will launch a gasoline 2.3T engine at the end of next year.

(Tik Tok: front 4x4)