Today is the second day of the trip to Jiuzhaigou. The schedule is equally packed, but there are different experiences this time.
We set off early this morning to film the musk deer. Perhaps due to the National Day holiday, some people were driving, and the mountain roads were rugged and narrow, causing the cars to move slowly like snails. However, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The slow journey provided more opportunities for photography. We originally went to look for musk deer, but unexpectedly encountered a herd of wild goats. They stood on the steep cliffs, some sitting, some standing, in various poses, but they all remained motionless. Even when they walked, it was a slow stroll within a small range. This gave me a great opportunity. Although they were far away, separated by a mountain from me, I still managed to capture a rough image.
(the pictures of wild goats)
Despite the traffic jam that wasted a lot of time, the musk deer did not disappoint me. When we arrived at the filming location, it was already noon. Normally, the musk deer should have returned to the forest to rest by this time. But when I looked up, I was pleasantly surprised to see a head poking out from a clump of trees on another mountain, slowly chewing leaves. The method to distinguish between male and female musk deer is by observing their heads. If there are antlers, it's male; otherwise, it's female. Today, I didn't see the large male musk deer with forked antlers like in documentaries. Instead, I saw a female musk deer and a young male with only two small straight antlers. It seemed very shy and only popped its head out once for a short time. I missed the opportunity and only managed to photograph its mother.
(the beautiful scene of the valley that I visited when photographing deers)
The activities in the afternoon may not have been particularly exciting, but they were very interesting. I crouched on a small slope, waiting for the pikas and snow finches, the two most common creatures on this trip. Although they are common, I never tired of observing their behaviors. The pika resembles a rabbit in appearance but is smaller in size (it belongs to the order Lagomorpha). They play a vital role in the ecosystem (as mentioned in the bird-watching article about Qinghai) and have a significant impact on vegetation. On the other hand, the snow finch is a plateau creature, especially fond of eating grass seeds. As a result, they often move around on the ground. There is an interesting connection between these two species. They help each other, as the burrows dug by pikas can provide shelter for snow finches during sudden attacks, and in return, snow finches help keep watch for pikas. When a pika pops its head out of the hole, the snow finch remains vigilant, especially when the pika emerges fully to search for food, the snow finch almost always stays beside it. If the snow finch detects any anomaly, it will make a warning call, and the pika that receives the information will immediately retreat into the burrow. Don't underestimate the speed of pikas. Although they are small rodents with a short stature, their reaction speed is extremely fast. They often retreat into their complex burrows before I can even react.
