"Waiting for class to end, waiting for school to end, waiting for the childhood of the game..." A song "Childhood" sings the childhood of many people. On the occasion of International Children's Day, will you remember your childhood? Water park, mud play, kickball... But this is not only the childhood of human beings, but also the "big cuteness" of Yunnan - the childhood of Asian elephants.
Baby elephants grow happily under the protection of elephants (infographic). Xinhua News Agency (Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley Photo)
It is a habit of behavior, but also a childhood of pleasant play
Asian elephants follow their mothers until they are 5 years old, after which they gradually increase their independence, which means that they have a longer "childhood" than many animals. From the images of a large number of Asian elephants, it can be seen that they like to play in the water, using the long nose as a fountain; like to carry the soil to themselves or their friends and roll in the dirt; like to "slide", like to use their noses to curl or shake up and down branches...
Baby elephants playing happily (infographic). Xinhua Netfa (Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of Pu'er Municipal Party Committee)
Do you know what all this means? Needless to say, this is the childhood joy of Asian elephants. Elephant doctor Bao Mingwei introduced that for baby elephants, they spend a lot of time playing, and playing with water and mud bathing are important survival skills of Asian elephants, water can cool down, mud can protect their skin from mosquito bites, this is the process of learning in play.
Baby elephants playing in mud (photo taken on November 7, 2021). Xinhua Network Photo by Li Na
"Baby elephants, including many animals when they were young, are actually the same as human children, very energetic and curious." Play, Mr. Paul says, is actually a process of exploring the world, exercising their bodies, and practicing their survival skills. When they encounter slopes, they will "slide", they also like to roll on the ground, like to chase and play with baby elephants of the same age, like to "destroy" flowers and trees, etc., which is a play behavior.
Asian elephants can have more love
The love of asian elephants is vividly reflected in the baby elephants. Asian elephants have a long pregnancy, and elephant mothers tend to be extra protective of their young after giving birth to baby elephants. Video footage has also documented elephants waving leaves with their noses to drive away the heat; whether they are moving forward or resting, they always keep the baby elephants in the middle; if other elephants bully their children, they will also stand up.
Elephants protect baby elephants in the middle (photo taken on May 31). Xinhua Netfa (Photo by Bao Mingwei)
In recent days, there have been frequent wild elephants near the Wild Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna, and one of the wild elephant families has a baby elephant that has just been born. Whether crossing the road, playing in the river, or cooling off in the woods, it is always difficult to see the baby elephant at first glance, the elephants will strictly surround it in the middle, and when passing the road, they will also be extra careful, constantly looking left and right to ensure the safe passage of the baby elephant.
Baby elephants follow elephants in the wild (photo taken on May 31). Xinhua Netfa (Photo by Bao Mingwei)
It is understood that after the baby elephant is born, it must learn to cross the mountains and cross the ditch, and the elephant is always behind to guard and help the baby elephant. Bao Mingwei introduced that baby elephants will continue to imitate elephant behavior during their growth, including learning what elephants eat when they eat them. Because of this, baby elephants are very dependent on their mothers or family members, and "petting" and "elephant trunk kissing" are always common among Asian elephants.
The childhood of these baby elephants also has them
Baby elephants rely heavily on elephants for their growth, but when smart elephants judge that they can't treat injured or sick baby elephants, they will also "ask" humans for help and bring baby elephants to places where there are people, such as the internet red elephants "Sheep Girl" and "Little Strong".
Rescue elephant "Xiao Qiang" playing happily with his partner (photo taken on November 6, 2021). Xinhua News Chai Jing photo
When the "sheep girl" was found, she had severe umbilical cord infection, wound suppuration, arrhythmia and other diseases, and was born about 7 days when she was rescued by the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center. "Xiao Qiang" had been wandering in the rainforest for some time when he was found, without the acceptance of the elephant herd, without the care of elephants, and the young one could not survive independently. After these baby elephants were rescued, they did not have elephant milk, and the "elephant fathers" fed them goat milk on time and in quantity, and the "sheep girls" even had a large bottle of their own.
"Dragon Dragon" relies heavily on Elephant Dad (photo taken on November 5, 2021). Xinhua Network Photo by Li Na
Like them, the young elephants rescued due to illness or injury also have "dragon dragons" and "Ranran", etc., and their common features are that when they first arrived at the center, they were generally young and had not yet learned the skills of independent survival with elephants, so they relied heavily on nurseries, that is, "elephant fathers". "Elephants who come to the center from childhood will be closer to us than other elephants, and at this time we 'elephant fathers' will also play the role of adult elephants." Bao Mingwei said that "elephant fathers" often have to take them to the wild to learn the necessary survival skills, and will also let the better female elephants bring smaller elephants.
"Elephant Daddy" takes Asian elephants for rewilding training (Photo taken on November 6, 2021). Xinhua Network Photo by Li Na
Whether it is going into the mountains for rewild training or daily life, they are very fond of being close to the "elephant father", and they have formed their own personality in the process of growing up. For example, "sheep girl", like to spoil, love to play football, but also often destroy the water pipe; "Xiao Qiang" is relatively calm, independent living ability is stronger, it also found its own good friends here. (End) (Chai Jing)
Source Xinhua Net