A Chinese merganser with its babies is seen at a water area in NE Jilin’s Fusong county. Jin Zhigui, a photographer, got the perfect shot after waiting for two weeks. As the ecological environment improves every year, more than 200 Chinese mergansers will fly to Changbai Mountain region in the spring. [Photo by Jin Zhigui/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese mergansers have been listed as a national first-level protected animal but now they are faced with threats from fishing, vegetation destruction, habitat fragmentation, and water pollution. With fewer than 3,000 pairs remaining, they are often referred to as a "living fossil of birds".