Rising Curiosity Surrounds Ailao Mountains Following Influencer Videos

Recent viral videos from social media influencers have brought the Ailao Mountains in Yunnan province to the forefront of public interest. This previously lesser-known mountainous region has attracted attention, particularly with regards to the rare white-eared night heron, a bird whose numbers are dwindling, with only about 1,000 individuals worldwide. Zhao Xuebing, an educator at Yunnan University's School of Ecology and Environmental Science, notes the difficulty in spotting these birds due to their elusive nature and limited population.

The white-eared night heron is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has been designated as a species needing urgent protection by the Chinese government. The Ailao Mountains themselves stretch roughly 500 kilometers from the northwest to the southeast central of Yunnan. This mountain range is renowned for hosting the largest and most intact subtropical montane wet evergreen broadleaved forest ecosystem in China, a habitat that supports numerous lesser-known species. Included among these are various endangered animals like the western black-crested gibbon, the clouded leopard, and the green peafowl, illustrating the ecological significance of this remarkable area.