Hey, you over there, collecting energy for your next tree.
We know you’re the type who takes the events of the world to heart:
“I wonder how many Corona virus cases there are worldwide now?”
“I wonder if plague of locusts swarming around Africa might come eat my sapling…”
Well, have you heard about the army of Chinese ducks?
Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJMj7ZRCKA8
The prime culprit doing the damage is the desert locust.
They mostly roam in dry places. Increased rainfall in East Africa last year meant that more plants grew on the baron plains last year, which in turn meant perfect breeding grounds and plenty of food.
“Pest Control” tactics seem to be in need, and we just happen to know a few.
Nature is the greatest teacher.
Let’s learn from her and earn ourselves some Eco-warrior stripes.
The “Natural-born Enemies” Approach to Pest Control
Catering services for our feathered friends
One of the reasons behind the locust plague Africa’s lack of natural bug-eating exterminators. For this reason, China has dispatched their duck army to lend a hand.
The Ant Forest conservations are frequently visited by birds – natural enemy to the bugs and beetles. For example, here’s a feathered friend who likes to hang around the Ant Forest conservation Heshun.（below）
This valiant looking fellow, with his stunning coat of blue-grey feathers, is the Red-footed Falcon (红脚隼). He’s great at helping lower bug populations.
Checking “隼” in a Chinese dictionary, we found out it means “fierce bird”.
Every year in April they flock to the Ant Forest conservations to settle down, make a nest, find a mate and hatch little falcon chicks.
Why here? The nice natural environment isn’t even the main reason - it’s all about the food. Besides the occasional mouse feast, lizards and other small animals, bugs are this little fellow’s meal of choice.
What we’re trying to say is, Ant Forest isn’t just in the tree-planting business – they’re in the bird catering business.
Don’t be fooled by his size – among migratory birds, this guy is one of the fastest! Pest control, cute, impressive speed. Not bad, little falcon.
In September-October bugs disappear from the North, at which time our feathered friends depart on a long journey to India and Africa in search of new crunchy treats.
The “Balance” Approach
It’s not a case of ‘the fewer bugs the better’.
”The locusts are the bad guys, so, what if we just wipe them out?”
Founder of the Chinese Feline Conservation Alliance Ms Song Dazhao doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
The alliance protects the North China Leopards that roam the Ant Forest reservations, and those bugs – pests as they may be – are closely connected to the leopards’ well-being.
Wild boars love to visit the reservations and scrape about in search of locusts to eat, and they are exactly the type of large animal the North China leopard calls lunch.
The locust plague this year consumes enough crops to feed millions of people; but they aren’t the root issue – they’re just a symptom that emerged at the end of a complex chain of events, started by environmental destruction and disruption of the natural balance of our ecosystems. People blindly plough earth into farmland and over-populate cattle pastures.
The grasslands recede and the desert moves in. Strange weather brews, making atypical rains fall on baron land, giving locusts the perfect breeding ground.
So, how do we stop the locusts?
(No, not another army of ducks...)
Plant trees, restore habitats, rebalance ecosystems, and let nature be.
Get growing!
