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(Original title: Netizens reported that an ant merchant had placed cockroach medicine in a cave in Dazhou, Sichuan. The local authorities said: We are dealing with it.)

Recently, wildlife conservationists reported that an ant trader named Nie from Dazhou, Sichuan, had placed a large amount of cockroach medicine in the local Shenlong Karst Cave in order to monopolize the population of ground beetles living in the cave. This news has attracted the attention of many ecological enthusiasts.

The whistleblower "Yaoyao" said that these cave beetles are new species unique to Shenlong Karst Cave, very rare and of great scientific value, and are precious specimens for studying the ecology and evolution of cave creatures, but they have not yet been included in the list of protected animals. Recently, Nie captured a large number of live cave beetles, moved them to another cave and sold them online at a high price, and then put a large amount of drugs in the original cave. "But cave beetles are highly specialized cave-dwelling creatures, highly adapted to and highly dependent on the environment of Shenlong Karst Cave where they live. Changes in humidity and temperature may affect the survival of the creature."

Industry insiders also told the Beijing News that the ecological environment of the cave is very fragile, and the act of adding drugs will have irreversible impacts on the ecology of the cave.

On the afternoon of August 16, a Beijing News reporter learned from the Dazhou Forestry Bureau that relevant departments were handling the matter.

The cave beetle in Shenlong Cave. Photo provided by the interviewee

The informant said that after the drug was administered, the cave was full of dead bodies

The whistleblower Yao Yao is an insect lover. On August 16, he recalled to the Beijing News reporter that in December 2021, by chance, he became online friends with Nie when he was discussing ant-related topics online. Nie has been selling various insects and other exotic pets on a certain platform for a long time. Although they have never met, Nie often asks Yao Yao for help in identifying species.

The chat records provided by Yaoyao show that on the afternoon of August 4, Nie asked, "What medicine can kill the creatures in a small cave? It's poison." In the early morning of August 8, Nie said, "All the living individuals of this species are in my hands. I have found a replacement cave to release them in. I have already put medicine in the original cave." The original cave is Shenlong Cave. Nie said that in order to prevent the species from becoming extinct, the new cave he found "has a very good environment and abundant food", while the original Shenlong Cave "is not very good, it has been developed and there is garbage everywhere", and the insects caught are basically empty-stomach.

During the conversation, Nie revealed that the drug used for poisoning was cockroach poison, "more than 100 were thrown away."

Screenshot of the chat between Nie and Yaoyao (Photo provided by the interviewee)

According to Yaoyao, the new species of cave beetles captured by Nie are sold for 2,000 yuan each. Nie once told Yaoyao that a business rival was selling similar beetles from the cave on the same platform for only 200 yuan each. "Now that we have caught them and given them drugs, let's see what he can do with them."

Yaoyao said that he contacted the business rival "Shengmei" mentioned by Nie and informed him of the situation he knew. After that, Shengmei asked two local friends to go to the cave to check it out and take photos to collect evidence, which he would provide to the police later.

On August 9, a friend who went into the cave to check told Yaoyao, "There are drugs on both layers, corpses are everywhere, and the new species of ground beetles are no longer seen."

Photo provided by interviewees at Shenlong Cave on August 9

"Unfortunately, they did not take samples of the water in the cave at that time, nor did they take out the cockroach poison on the ground." Yao Yao said that after the non-degradable cockroach poison caused the death of the creatures in the cave, the poison and the animal carcasses containing the poison would contaminate the soil and groundwater in the cave, causing irreversible damage.

After the incident, Nie posted on the Internet, "I admit that I threw medicine into the cave. If it has a significant impact on the environment, I will bear all the consequences." The Beijing News reporter contacted Nie several times, but no response was received as of press time.

On the evening of August 8, Yaoyao contacted the Wildlife Conservation Division of the Sichuan Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Sichuan Provincial Wildlife Conservation Association, hoping to draw the attention of relevant departments. On August 16, Yaoyao provided relevant evidence to the Public Security Bureau of Xuanhan County, Dazhou City. The screenshots of the chat records he provided showed that the local police had intervened in the investigation.

On the afternoon of August 16, a Beijing News reporter learned from the Dazhou Forestry Bureau that the bureau was aware of the incident and that the Forest Resources and Nature Conservation Division was handling it. "Many people have called to ask about it today."

The cave ecosystem is fragile

Based on the photos taken by Shengmei before entering the cave, many industry insiders found that there are a large number of spiders, bats and other creatures living in the cave, and the act of adding pesticides will have an irreversible impact on the ecology of the cave.

Bats in Shenlong Cave (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"If my identification is correct, the bats living in Shenlong Cave should be big-footed bats, which are a 'three-protected' animal (referring to terrestrial wild animals with important ecological, scientific and social value that are protected by the state)." An industry insider engaged in invasive species management told the Beijing News that as the top predator in the cave ecosystem, a large amount of poison bait may be ingested by the big-footed bats in various ways and accumulated in their bodies through bioaccumulation, eventually leading to the mass death of big-footed bats.

"At the same time, a large number of pesticides are not allowed to be used directly near water bodies. Once these pesticides enter the water bodies, they will cause the death of a large number of aquatic organisms, including fish," said the above-mentioned industry insider.

In addition, industry insider Yuan Xia analyzed that our understanding of fish and insects in cave ecosystems is still extremely scarce. In routine surveys, new species are discovered in caves every year. The ecology of different caves is very different. Some caves are connected by complex underground rivers. Some caves have water sources through surface river runoff, which can bring in a lot of nutrients on the ground. There are also many caves that have little communication with the outside world and have nurtured their own unique ecological environment alone for hundreds of years.

"For example, unique fungi have evolved in some caves. Humans will get lung infections if they explore them without protection, and people outside the caves have no idea of ​​the existence of these creatures, which can be fatal. So in many cases, the only habitat for some new species is the cave where they are discovered. Once the ecological environment of the cave fluctuates, many species will disappear even before humans are aware of their existence." Yuan Xia told the Beijing News that if species that have been bred and adapted in a cave's ecological environment are placed in another environment, in many cases the probability of them surviving is not high.

"It is the worst behavior to maliciously destroy the already fragile cave ecological environment and even poison the creatures in the cave," said Yuan Xia.

The picture that Nie sent to Yaoyao after applying the cockroach medicine. Photo provided by the interviewee

(To protect privacy, Yaoyao, Shengmei, and Yuanxia are my screen names)