A Call for Help from a Feathered Friend来自鸟类朋友的求助

In an attempt to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the green peacock， Wild China Film teamed up with college students in Beijing to present the stage play Peacock on the Tip of the Heart at Star Theaters in January 2020.

为了促进人们对绿孔雀的关注，加深对绿孔雀的了解，“野性中国”与北京的大学生合作，于2020年1月在繁星戏剧村上演了舞台剧《心尖上的绿孔雀》。

The audience applauded wildly at the end of the play， and Xi Zhinong and Shi Lihong， founders of Wild China Film， who produce the play based on peacock protection， expressed their gratitude to these amateur actors who， passionate about wildlife， were willing to give so freely of their time.

观众在剧终时报以热烈的掌声。“野性中国”创始人奚志农和史立红制作了这部以孔雀保护为主题的话剧，他们向这些热爱野生动物、愿意无私地奉献时间的业余演员表达了感谢。

Twenty-five years ago in Lancang River Basin in Yunnan province Xi captured some of the best photos taken of one of the most beautiful birds in China， the green peacock. In 2017 when Xi returned to the place where he filmed the green peacock， he was surprised to find that all traces of such birds were gone. So to save this beautiful species， Xi started work on protecting the green peacock， camera in hand.

25年前，在云南省澜沧江流域，奚志农拍摄了中国最美的鸟类之一绿孔雀的精彩照片。2017年，奚志农回到当年拍摄绿孔雀的地方，他惊讶地发现，这些鸟儿的踪迹已完全消失。为了挽救这个美丽的物种，奚志农开始用手中的相机投身于绿孔雀的保护工作。

According to a survey by the Kunming Institute of Zoology， part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， fewer than 500 of the peacocks may still exist， and it has now become one of China’s most endangered wildlife species， even rarer than the giant panda.

中国科学院昆明动物研究所的调查表明，现存的绿孔雀可能不足500只，如今绿孔雀成为中国最为濒危的野生物种之一，甚至比大熊猫还稀有。

Xi has photographed countless rare wild animals， and he is determined to use the images to promote wildlife protection.

奚志农拍摄过无数珍稀的野生动物，他立志用影像来推动野生动物的保护工作。

In 1983 Xi started a field investigation hosted by Yunnan University on wild birds in the province， and took part in filming the documentary Bird’s Paradise. It was his first exposure to wildlife photography.

1983年，奚志农参加了云南大学开展的云南省野生鸟类野外考察，参与了纪录片《鸟儿的乐园》的拍摄，这是他第一次接触野生动物摄影。

By working with photographers he witnessed the serious negative impact of traditional wildlife photography on bird-life， and was horrified by photographers’ tactics that included tying the bird on a leash or shocking it to fluster1. This gave birth to his photography concept of “not interfering with wildlife”.

跟随摄影师工作期间，奚志农目睹了传统野生动物摄影对鸟类生活的严重负面影响，对摄影师用绳子拴住鸟或让鸟受到惊吓等手段深感震惊。这催生了他“不干扰野生动物”的摄影理念。

In 1990 Xi was a photographer for one of China Central Television’s most popular and influential programs， Animal World. He twice entered the Dawei Mountain Nature Reserve and the Dulong River Nature Reserve in Yunnan. During the three-month shooting he saw no large wild animals， but instead， the skulls of white wagtail and langur， the fur of impala， the victims of assailants wielding slingshots and crossbows. Xi had earlier been wholly preoccupied by the desire to photograph birds， but he now realized that if people were to be made aware of the importance of protecting the environment， much more than pictures of birds was required.

1990年，奚志农成为《动物世界》的摄影师，《动物世界》是中国中央电视台最受欢迎、最有影响力的节目之一。他两次进入云南的大围山自然保护区和独龙江自然保护区。在三个月的拍摄期间，他没有看到大型野生动物，反而看到了白鹡鸰和叶猴的头骨、黑斑羚的毛皮，这些动物都是攻击者用弹弓与弩射杀的。奚志农起初一心只想着拍鸟，可他此时意识到，要想让人们认识到保护环境的重要性，只拍鸟的照片是远远不够的。

“A good wildlife work can cut through to people’s hearts， and that is the power of nature，” Xi said.

“一幅好的野生动物作品能够直击人心，这就是自然的力量。”奚志农说。

“However， to render this authenticity， in addition to high degree of color restoration， the performance of different color gamut2 is also required. For example， a penguin’s body has many gray tones， and there are many in the surrounding environment， too. These tones will produce a very dim picture... Fortunately， with quality lenses and a lot of experience you can get some remarkable shots in terms of gray scale. This effect makes the picture transitions more natural and expressive.”

“但是要呈现这种真实感，除了色彩的高度还原，还需要不同色域的表现。比如，企鹅的身上有大量的灰色调，周边环境也有大量的灰色调。这些色调会让画面显得很暗淡。所幸的是，凭借优质的镜头和丰富的经验，你可以拍出一些灰度处理绝妙的照片。正是这样的效果让画面的色彩过渡更自然，也更具表现力。”

In 1992 Xi left Animal World and followed the Yunnan golden monkey research team， a three-year project by the World Wide Fund for Nature deep into the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve to shoot golden snub-nosed monkeys.

1992年，奚志农离开了《动物世界》，跟随滇金丝猴研究团队深入白马雪山国家级自然保护区，参与了世界自然基金会开展的一项为期三年的项目，拍摄金丝猴。

After three years of hard work he filmed the documentary Mystery Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkey. These hauntingly beautiful primates， gentler than others of their kind and elfin-like， seem at once childlike and wise beyond their years.

经过三年的努力，奚志农拍摄出了纪录片《神秘的滇金丝猴》。这些美得令人难以忘怀的灵长类动物比其他同类更加温驯，犹如精灵一般，似乎既有孩子的纯真，又有超越年龄的智慧。

It was the first time that humans had recorded the activities of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys with a camera. The documentary is not only of important academic value， but has been praised for its artistic value and was later used as teaching material for environmental education in college classes. The film won the TVE3 award at the prestigious Wildscreen Festival in Bristol， England， in 2002.

这是人类第一次用摄影机记录滇金丝猴的活动状况。这部纪录片不仅有重要的学术价值，还凭借其艺术价值而深受好评，后来成为大学环境教育课程的教材。2022年，这部影片在英国布里斯托尔享有盛誉的“自然银幕电影节”上荣获了TVE奖。

After gaining fame with the film， Xi started working on another documentary， Mystery Monkeys of Shangri-La， in 2012. It depicts a monkey family led by a formidable elderly leader that protects its eight or ten clans against the hardships in the Himalayas using defensive strategies， collaboration and interdependence to survive. The film received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Nature Programming in 2016.