FLYING SQUAD OF GREEN VIGILANTES COMBAT BIRD POACHERS

Amateur groups spearhead efforts to prevent illegal activities.

For much of the past year, Liu Yidan has patrolled the back roads of China in a black jeep, hunting for bird poachers.

The former restaurateur is part of a growing and increasingly proactive network of vigilantes in China who monitor the countryside and animal markets to combat wildlife poaching, a practice that is endangering the existence of some species.