Giant salamander is an animal with high edible value. Its meat is tender and delicious, and its nutritional value is high. It is rich in high-quality protein, amino acids and trace elements needed by human body, and its nutritional value is far superior to abalone, bird's nest, shark's fin and turtle.

Therefore, the giant salamander enjoys a high position in the "food circle" and tonic, and is known as "ginseng in water". In Chinese mainland, Hongkong and some countries in Southeast Asia, it is a rare and rare product in high-end hotels and banquets, and is regarded as a rare and valuable supplement by diners.

There are disadvantages in buying and selling. Some people want to make a fortune by catching giant salamanders, so giant salamanders are targeted by these "poachers". Before 1970s, the number of wild giant salamander in China was basically in an ecological balance due to fewer people eating giant salamander.

However, the good times did not last long. In the late 1970s, the number of wild giant salamanders in China began to show a downward trend, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, which can be said to be the most difficult period for giant salamanders, and even can be described as "disaster".

The reason is that the giant salamander gradually went to the high-end hotels and banquets in the south of China, and even was used as a "signature dish", which was in short supply, and since then it has embarked on a "no return". And some southern "poachers" with flexible brains, seeing that it is profitable, quietly sneaked into the mountains to catch giant salamanders.

Stealing giant salamanders usually eats and lives in the mountains, and it usually takes more than half a month to leave. Most giant salamanders live in mountain streams, so "poachers" usually go downstream. In order to catch wild giant salamanders, their means are very bad, and they do not hesitate to "drug" in the stream, just for high rewards.

At that time, the price of giant salamander was about 5 10 yuan per catty, and later it rose to tens or hundreds of yuan per catty. However, at that time, the price of pork was only per catty 1 yuan, so driven by high profits, a large number of wild giant salamanders were arrested and turned into dining tables.

At first, the giant salamander was widely distributed in China, including more than 20 provinces such as Qinghai, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Shaanxi, and mainly lived in rivers, lakes and streams at an altitude of1500m.

However, in the late 1990s, the wild giant salamander was on the verge of extinction nationwide. In fact, as early as 1988 "People's Republic of China (PRC) Wildlife Protection Law", the giant salamander (Chinese giant salamander) has been listed as a national second-class protected wild animal in China.

Even so, some people feel desperate, because the price of wild giant salamander on the black market has risen to more than 2,000 yuan per catty. Then, once the "fragrant cake" on the dining table, the giant salamander with a price of thousands of yuan per catty, why did it fall off the altar and be spurned?

The price of giant salamander plummeted like a roller coaster.

Because it is difficult for poachers to catch wild giant salamander, the supply stability is extremely poor, and at the same time, wild giant salamander is forbidden to catch and sell, which can't keep up with the market demand. However, people who are good at seizing opportunities are keenly aware of the business opportunities at this time, and they turn their attention to the artificial breeding of giant salamanders.

The artificial domestication of Chinese giant salamander began in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province 1978, which successfully broke through three key technologies: parent fish cultivation, hormone induced spawning and fertilization and incubation. At the end of two years later, 109 golden giant salamander hatched and became the first generation of artificially propagated giant salamander.

Facts have proved that breeding giant salamander is indeed a profiteering project. In 2000, although the artificial breeding technology of giant salamander was basically mature at this time, if we want to engage in artificial breeding of giant salamander, the investment will start with millions, so the threshold of breeding is very high.

It is understood that around 2008, a giant salamander parent fish weighing about 10 kg was introduced to Hanzhong giant salamander breeding base in Shaanxi, and its price was as high as 20,000 yuan, while the price per kilogram of artificially cultured giant salamander flowing to the market table also exceeded 1000 yuan.

In the first few years of artificial breeding of giant salamander, some farmers who took the lead in mastering breeding and reproduction technology were "nouveau riche" who earned a lot of money, and the profiteering period of artificial breeding of giant salamander lasted for more than ten years.

Since 20 13 years, the market price of artificially cultured giant salamander has fallen "cliff-like", from the initial 1000 yuan per catty to 200 300 yuan per catty, but this is only the beginning. In the next few years, the price of giant salamander plummeted to less than 100 yuan per catty.

There are two main reasons for the collective decline in the price of giant salamanders: first, the return profit of giant salamanders in the early stage was large, which led to the continuous increase of employees and the listing of a large number of giant salamanders, which led to the full market after entering the market; Second, the number of consumers who eat giant salamander has decreased. After the "consumption boom" recedes, prices will inevitably fall.

At present, according to the price of giant salamander sold on the online business platform, the price of a artificially cultured giant salamander weighing about 5 kg is about 140, 160 yuan, and the average price is less than 30 yuan per kg, which is several times different from the previous price of thousands of yuan, which leads to the abandonment of giant salamander by farmers and various spits.

Because at this time, the price of giant salamander has reached the embarrassing situation of losing money and making money. Special reminder: giant salamander belongs to protected animals. If it is cultivated, sold or sold, it is necessary to apply for a license for domestication and breeding of aquatic wild animals, a license for operation and utilization, and a transportation license, otherwise it is illegal.

Further reading-giant salamander is not a fish

(1) ancient creatures-giant salamander. Giant salamander, also known as Chinese giant salamander, is named "giant salamander" because its "wow wow" sound is similar to the cry of a baby.

Giant salamander lives in fresh water, but in fact it is not a fish, but an amphibious reptile living in water. Giant salamander is a large amphibian, usually 50-80 cm long, up to meters long and weighing about 65,438+000 kg.

The body color of giant salamander is mainly reddish brown, dark brown or brown, accompanied by irregular dark stripes, and the lower abdomen is mainly white and grayish white. Sometimes, the body color of giant salamander will change because of its habitat. Giant salamander is an ancient creature, which can be traced back to Devonian 350 million years ago.

In fact, this statement is not groundless, because the giant salamander fossils unearthed all over the world, after monitoring by scientists, found that the unearthed address turned out to be in Inner Mongolia, China about 65.438+65 billion years ago, so the giant salamander is called "living fossil".

2 living habits. The giant salamander has a special life habit, and likes to live in an environment with fast-flowing water and abundant aquatic plants, especially in the gap between mountain caves and rocks where the water flows, or under big stumps in water.

However, the habitat chosen by the giant salamander is usually crystal clear water, and there can be no polluted water. Therefore, most giant salamanders live in mountain streams and sparsely populated rivers and lakes, and their caves are usually located at the backflow of rivers and beaches.

The exit of the cave where the giant salamander lives is relatively narrow, but the space inside the cave is very large, and the giant salamander can rotate inside, but the giant salamander likes to live a "single" life, and there is only one giant salamander in a cave.

3 predatory. Giant salamanders are very interesting when they hunt. Although it can swim in the water like a fish, its speed is less than half that of a fish. Even when it crawls, it is slow and lazy. However, you must not be deceived by its disguised appearance. In fact, the giant salamander belongs to a fierce carnivore.

In the natural environment, they mainly feed on shrimp, crabs, small fish, frogs, snakes, rats and so on. When food sources are insufficient, they will also consider aquatic insects. When hunting, it usually relies on camouflage and lurks near the cave. When aquatic animals such as fish and shrimp pass by, it will attack quickly and be swallowed directly before the prey reacts.

Giant salamander is also good at catching crabs with "tricks". According to the characteristics that crabs like to hold things with big claws and will not let them go easily, the giant salamander puts its tail into the gap in the crab's life. Once the crab is caught, it will be quickly pulled out and become the food of the giant salamander.

④ Reproductive ability. May and August are the breeding seasons of giant salamanders every year. The male giant salamander will build a "delivery room" in the cave, then go out to find the female giant salamander, and then introduce it into the cave to lay eggs and reproduce.

The female giant salamander lays about 380 1500 eggs at a time, and the larger the body, the higher the egg production. Because the hatching of eggs depends on the natural water temperature, it takes a long time, about 30-40 days in normal water level environment and no more than 80 days in low temperature area.

During the whole breeding process, the female giant salamander will leave the cave after laying eggs, and the male will always guard the cave to prevent other animals from stealing and destroying it. When the rising water and the current are large, the male giant salamander will shrink into a circle to prevent the fish eggs from being washed away by the current.

Finally, since the 1990s, people have frequently entered the forest and nature, even engaged in tourism and economic development in the giant salamander habitat, resulting in the pollution of the original clear water source and a large number of shrubs being cut down.

On the surface, the number of wild giant salamanders is decreasing, on the one hand, it is overfished by "poachers", which leads to the precarious population of wild giant salamanders. The reason for this is undeniable, but on the other hand, it artificially destroys the ecosystem of wild giant salamanders, resulting in their lack of breeding and breeding places.

At present, there are 2 1 wild giant salamander nature reserves in China, of which the earliest nature reserve was established in 1976, located in Liaohe River Basin, Jing 'an County, Jiangxi Province. However, the protection situation of wild giant salamander is still not optimistic, because so far, no trace of wild giant salamander has been found in some parts of these protected areas.

In recent years, with the efforts of relevant departments to improve the natural environment and strictly monitor deforestation and water pollution, wild giant salamanders have been found in some areas. This shows that only by caring for and protecting the environment can rare and endangered wild animals have a chance to reproduce and recover.

In short, keeping the green mountains and green hills is keeping the Jinshan Yinshan. Therefore, caring for nature and wildlife is everyone's responsibility!