中国老人守护天鹅40年，妻子痛心：“你救天鹅，谁救你啊？！” | The Guardian of Swan Lake

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This week is “Bird-Loving Week” in China. In 1981, to promote the protection of birds and maintain the balance of the eco-system, the State Council of China authorized the celebration of “Bird-Loving Week” between April and May. People hold many types of popular science activities in order to learn about the creatures and their protection. 

本周是一年一度的“爱鸟周”。1981年，为了提倡人们保护鸟类、维护自然生态平衡，中国国务院批准在每年4月末至5月初设立“爱鸟周”。人们能通过各种各样的科普活动，了解鸟类的美，学习保护鸟类的知识。

"All beings are created equal. The swan's life is of the same value as that of a human." Says Yuan Xueshun, founder of the civil organization "Weihai Whooper Swan Protection Association", and a determined protector of swans. 

“万物都是平等的。你把人的命和天鹅的命放在称上，是一样重。”袁学顺说。他是天鹅民间保护组织“威海市大天鹅保护协会”的创立者，也是他人眼中执拗的“天鹅卫士”。

Located in the east coast of Shandong Peninsula, the area where he lives is called "Rongcheng Swan Lake", or "Moon Lake". From November to the next April, nearly 3000 whooper swans would migrate here from Russia, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Sanjiang Plain, etc. Swans that head for the south of Yangtze River also stop here to replenish. They make quite a spectacle on the lake.

他所生活的这片湖区被称作“荣成天鹅湖”，又叫月湖，位于胶东半岛最东端。每年11月到4月，来自俄罗斯、内蒙、新疆、三江平原等地的约3000只大天鹅会到这里过冬。一些计划飞到长江以南的天鹅也会选择这里作为路过的歇脚之地。天鹅聚集之时，场面蔚为壮观。

Inspired by a retired teacher named Li Mingwei, Yuan started to protect the birds voluntarily since 1975. After 40 years living with these white creatures, Yuan, who used to be an ordinary worker, now knows more about the whooper swans than experts in most universities. He easily can tell the subspecies apart, something that is quite hard for other people.

受到退休教师李明伟的影响，袁学顺从1975年开始义务保护天鹅，迄今已有40余年。经过多年与这群白色精灵的朝夕相处，身为普通工人的袁学顺所掌握的大天鹅知识，比大学里的专家还要多，能轻松认出天鹅难以分辨的亚种。

One day in 1985, Yuan noticed during an observation, a swan abnormally left its flock. It turned out that it had become stuck in a fishing net and had broken its wings. He rushed home to fetch the cutting tools, and returned only to find it dead in the reeds. Yuan believed it had committed suicide when it realized its body couldn't be cured. 

1985年的一天，在例行观察天鹅的时候，袁学顺发现一只行为异常的天鹅离开了族群。仔细一看，它身上缠着渔网，翅膀似乎也断了。他赶紧回家拿工具想要救助这只天鹅。但等他返回时，这只天鹅已经在芦苇丛中死去了。袁学顺觉得这是自知时日无多的动物的自杀行为。

"Had I got better tools and more time, perhaps it wouldn't have died." Yuan still remembers the scene after all these years. He then decided to establish a home-run recovery center for whooper swans, helping birds that become wounded or too weak to move. For swans in serious conditions, the family keep them at home. Some have been living with them for almost 8 years.

“如果我当时有更专业的工具，动作更快一点，也许这只天鹅就不会死。”时隔多年，袁学顺依然记得这件事。这促使他建立了家庭式大天鹅康复中心，和家人一起为受伤或体力不支的天鹅提供专业救助。有的天鹅伤病严重，他们会一直养在身边，有的已经养了七八年。

Yuan's daily job is to patrol the lake and to feed the swans. "There are three essential feeding periods." He explains. "The first one is when they arrive, they could be exhausted from migrating. The second is during the icebound season when food becomes scarce. The third is when they are about to go, they need to store energy to leave.”

袁学顺的日常工作是巡视和投食。“投食有三个关键期”，他介绍，“一是天鹅刚来的时候。那时候它们长途跋涉，非常虚弱。二是湖面上的封冻期，这会造成它们觅食困难。三是要走的时候，它们需要储备体力。”

A full-grown swan eats 6 meals a day, consuming about 4 kilograms of seaweed, fish and shrimps. In order to help the weak ones while maintaining their foraging ability, Yuan feeds them 3 times a day by spreading the food in a wide area. The job requires both skill and strength.

一只成年天鹅每天要觅食6次，吃掉7、8斤食物，包括海藻和小鱼虾。为了让天鹅中的老弱病残也能吃饱，同时保留野性，袁学顺每天投食3次，并将食物均匀抛洒成带状。这是个技术活，也是个体力活，袁学顺因此得了肩周炎。

The swans eat 20 tons of food per year. At first, it all came from Yuan's family, who could for a time hardly make ends meet. After the establishment of the association, more and more people came to help by donating food and money.

最开始，天鹅每年吃掉的20吨粮食都由袁学顺和家人义务负担，这让他们的生活非常拮据。一次，袁学顺病倒了，医生诊断为鼻腔血管变形，随时会复发，建议他立即住院治疗。谁知袁学顺拿不出住院费，只好在家中硬挺着，妻子心痛道：“老袁你救天鹅，谁救你啊！？”2003年，大天鹅保护协会成立之后，越来越多热心人为他们捐钱捐粮，卸下了他们身上的重担。

Although Yuan has saved many migrating swans, some people question his intervention against the law of nature. In this regard, Yuan has his own understanding about the relationship between nature and human beings. He believes that: "Saving the swans is in fact saving ourselves. The nature is being destroyed because our minds are not in the right place.”

袁学顺的善举让许多天鹅得以顺利越冬，也有人质疑这种人为干涉违反了自然规律。但他对自然与人的关系有自己的理解。他认为：“保护天鹅实际上是在救人。大自然被破坏掉，是人类的思想出了问题。救天鹅，也是在解决人们的观念问题。”

In reality, the conservation of swans in Rongcheng city is far from satisfying. There used to be 3 lake areas, now only 1 lake area remains. The nearby buildings and aquaculture farms are threats to the habitat. The number of swans had once declined from the 6000 to just 1000. In recent years, it climbed back to about 3000. 

实际上，荣成天鹅湖的天鹅保护工作状况并不乐观。曾经，这一片有3个湖区，面积达5平方公里，现在只剩下1个湖区。附近的建筑和养殖场，都对天鹅的栖息环境造成威胁。天鹅数量曾从高峰时的6000只跌到1000只，近年恢复到3000多只。像护犊子一样护着天鹅的袁学顺和不少人闹过矛盾。

To promote the protection of the swans, Yuan gives lectures at universities and trains volunteers.

为了号召更多人来保护天鹅，除了例行工作，袁学顺还常常去大学讲座，普及天鹅知识，还为协会培训志愿者。

"Swans are sentient beings, too. They are in the circle of life. Protecting them is part of our fate." Yuan is planning to better protect the wetland, so that "the beautiful whopper swans can be lifetime friends with human beings.”

“天鹅也是生命，也是轮回的一部分。你保护它们也是一种缘分。”袁学顺有自己的一套哲学观。将来，他想把湿地面积保护起来，“希望美丽的大天鹅能够伴随我们人类走完全程。”

Story written by: Zhu Siqi 

English editor: Melissa Chua

Cameraman: Dou Maoshan

Film editor: Yang Wenchao, Lu Gengrui

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