Source: CCTV news client
This summer, in the southwest region of China, a group of wild Asian elephants that have moved north and returned to the south have attracted the attention of the whole world. They went into the village to walk the fields, walked and played, and after more than a year, they traveled more than a thousand kilometers in a roundabout way. On the 10th of last month, after a family migration, 15 wild Asian elephants finally returned to their traditional habitat, Ning'er County in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province.
In March 2020, a group of wild Asian elephants from Xishuangbanna left their hometown to start a walk-and-go trip, and on April 16, 2021, the elephant group officially entered Yuanjiang County, Yuxi City, and began a northern tour, all the way to Kapuer, Honghe, Yuxi, and Kunming. This months-long "journey north" has deeply touched the hearts of the residents of the global village.
Whether it is fighting and stealing food, or hanging out and sleeping, the elephant herd has repeatedly dominated the screen network and has become a unique scenery that people see as interesting. In this "fantasy adventure", the elephants in the human settlement are not only not far from the crowds, but very "arrogant", like a group of bear children who come out on an outing during the summer vacation. Walking on the highway, playing in the streets, taking a bath in a pond, sleeping in the woods; tasting the villagers' corn while passing through the village, and accidentally stepping on the vegetable field in the villagers' homes... This group of elephants who were greedy for food were not only not expelled and scolded, but were treated as guests from afar by the villagers.
Zhao Ting, a villager in Shiyantou Village, Longwu Town, Shiping County, Honghe Prefecture: The elephant came to us once in a thousand years, he can't work, eat it, it's a big deal to replant it next year, it doesn't matter if you give it a little.
During the trip, in addition to leisure and comfort, the front monitoring team members also filmed a small secret in the life of the elephant herd one after another, constantly refreshing everyone's cognition of them. For example, the first time the elephants were photographed sleeping in the dense forest, the first time the elephants were photographed opening the manhole cover with their noses to drink water, the first time the elephants were photographed wearing straw hats and fans, the first time the elephant mother used her nose to help the baby elephants climb over the hills, shelter from the wind and rain, the first time the elephants were photographed feeding the baby elephants... This little story of life after life has made people more and more convinced that in the huge body of Asian elephants, they carry wisdom and emotions similar to those of human beings.
On the way of the elephant group's travel, there is always a group of "elephant chasers" accompanying them, and it is precisely with their "escort" that the elephant herd can leisurely eat all the way and coexist in harmony with humans. Among these "elephant chasers", there are commanders and fighters of the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade who have continuously searched and monitored wild elephants for 116 days, and they are called the closest people to the elephant herd by netizens.
Yang Xiangyu, captain of the wild Asian elephant search and monitoring task team of the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade: Because it is the largest terrestrial animal in Asia after all, it feels that the location of the elephant herd is very important, we monitor the coordinates of the elephant group from the drone, we transmit it back to the command, and then the command can carry out related, such as early warning evacuation, as well as analysis and judgment, feeding guidance these work.
Now the elephant herds have returned to their familiar habitat, but the anecdotes of the elephants walking around and eating the northern tour have left a deep mark on the hearts of the people of Yunnan and even the people of the whole country. The elephant chasing group that ended the monitoring task recently launched the theme publicity week of "Welcoming Cop15 and Guarding the Homeland of Jixiang" in Kunming, Yunnan Province, leaving the elephant herd in the memory of the masses in Yunnan.
The "China Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center" located in the Wild Elephant Valley of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, has rescued 28 wild Asian elephants in the past 13 years since its establishment. There are adult elephants, as well as baby elephants who have just been born, most of whom have been rescued here because of illness or accidental injury.
The rescued baby elephant "Dragon Dragon" grew taller and fatter
Long Long was only sent here in July this year, Long Long was abandoned by elephants near Man Fei Long Village in Puwen Town, local villagers found out and promptly called the police, forestry, public security and other departments sent personnel to the scene to rescue. At that time, the dragon was only about two months old, and the left front foot injury was already infected, and it would be life-threatening at any time. And now, the dragon has gradually recovered, every day to go out for a walk, play, the amount of food has also increased a lot, a day can eat more than 10 kilograms. Being able to eat and play, the dragon not only increased its height by more than 10 centimeters, but also gained more than 100 kilograms in weight.
National Day holiday Wild Asian elephants appear frequently
Within the scope of the Wild Elephant Valley, there are 7 groups, about 50 heads. During the National Day holiday, wild elephants appear every day, which can make tourists feast their eyes. What we see now is a group of images taken two days ago, which walked out of the dense forest and crossed the road. The head elephant who walked in front was very vigilant, leading the herd through the road quickly, and this sudden pause was because one of the baby elephants did not keep up with the team. After the baby elephants caught up, the herd passed smoothly.
Multi-departmental linkage to ensure safety and order
Because wild Asian elephants are not as docile as rescued, they are very aggressive. In order to ensure the safety of tourists, the local public security, forestry and scenic spots multi-departmental linkage to strengthen the monitoring and prevention and control of elephant herds, so that tourists can see elephants at the same time, but also to ensure the safety of everyone. This holiday, there are 6,000 or 7,000 tourists who come to the Wild Elephant Valley every day, mainly individual tourists. In terms of epidemic prevention and control, on the one hand, measures such as making an appointment to enter the park, staggering peaks, and restricting flow are taken, and on the other hand, we strengthen the testing at the entrance to ensure that everyone has a safe play environment.
Swim in the rainforest and feel the biodiversity
In addition to elephants in the Wild Elephant Valley, there are also good tropical rainforest landscapes that attract everyone to come. Because Xishuangbanna is the only tropical rainforest nature reserve in China, it is also the most well-preserved area of tropical ecosystem in China, with rich biodiversity. The Wild Elephant Valley, which is also the representative of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest, here, there are not only rich vegetation resources, but also tropical valley rainforests and tropical mountain rainforests, with more than 800 kinds of higher plants, of which 6 species belong to the national key protected wild plants. These good ecological resources not only provide a suitable living environment for wild Asian elephants, but also allow 22 species of national or yunnan key protected wild animals to settle here.