Zhongxin Network Pu'er August 12 Title: Southwest China's "Elephant Protectors" Jointly Build a Peaceful and Harmonious Homeland for Human Elephants
China News Network reporter Han Shuainan
12 is World Elephant Day. A year ago, the Asian elephant herd returned from the north to the south, triggering netizens around the world to "chase elephants in the clouds" through graphics, short videos, live broadcasts and other means. Today, this group of Asian elephants has been home for a year, but in their homeland of Yunnan Province, on the southwestern border of China, there is still a group of people who do not hesitate to "chase" and "protect elephants" day and night, and guard the "peace of people and elephants".
The picture shows wild Asian elephants in Manke Old Village, Kangping Town, Jiangcheng County, on July 31. Photo by Li Jiaxian
Ranger who has been with Asian elephants for 20 years
Zhao Jinqing, a 58-year-old Yao veteran who is a ranger in Nanping Village, Mengman Township, Mengla County, has been working with Asian elephants for more than 20 years.
The image shows "Elephant Dad" feeding Asian elephants. Photo by Miao Chao
In 1998, Zhao Jinqing found a wild Asian elephant with a hind leg injury and slow movement near the village. Out of sympathy, he began to feed the elephant, "At first, this elephant and I were a little afraid of each other, and I only dared to throw food far away. After slowly ripening, I can come closer and feed it. Zhao Jinqing found that his hind legs were seriously injured, so he used a bamboo pole to wrap a cloth strip to medicate the elephant. After more than two months of careful care, the elephant eventually died of his injuries.
Since then, While undertaking the work of rangers, Zhao Jinqing has also begun to participate in the monitoring and protection of Asian elephants.
"Asian elephants are very humane and cute." Zhao Jinqing's words reveal his love for Asian elephants, but elephants also have times when he is helpless. With the growth of the population of Asian elephants and the changes in their food structure, many Asian elephants have gone out of the reserve to forage for food, and many villagers, including Zhao Jinqing, have repeatedly destroyed the crops planted by Asian elephants.
"Since 2011, the Public Liability Insurance for Wild Asian Elephants has been established, and the amount of claims has increased year by year, so that the livelihood of the villagers has been guaranteed." Zhao Jinqing said that in the future, he will continue to guard the forest and guard the common home of people and Asian elephants.
The bittersweet and bittersweet of "Like Daddy"
At the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center, a group of staff accompany rescued Asian elephants for more than 10 hours a day, cleaning up feces, bathing them, and taking them for rewilding training. This group of people is affectionately known as "elephant dads".
Chen Jiming is an "elephant dad" at the center. He introduced that the Asian elephants who were rescued back included juvenile elephants who were injured by iron clips, female elephants who were injured by accidents, and male elephants who fell due to fighting for their spouses... These elephants have been traumatized physically and mentally, and come here with fear and pain. It is the careful and warm care of the "elephant fathers" that allows their wounds to be smoothed and the hope of survival to be rekindled.
Chen Jiming said that "Elephant Dad" needs patience and perseverance to learn the knowledge of Asian elephants, and the daily work is very hard. His most fulfilling moment was to see the rescued baby elephant grow day by day, and the injured wild elephant gradually recovered. "I spend more time with Asian elephants than I spend with my family." Speaking of his family, Chen Jiming was full of guilt.
"But the work of 'Elephant Daddy' is very meaningful, not only helping these 'elves' in the forest, but also allowing us to harvest many Asian elephant research results, and I will continue to stick to it." Chen Jiming said.
Truck drivers become Asian elephant monitors
Recently, a group of wild Asian elephants came to jiangcheng county Kangping town near the old village of Manke. Asian elephant monitor Diao Faxing "stared" at the elephant herd, sleeping for more than three hours on the first day. He took a sip of the coffee handed by the villagers and continued to control the drone to monitor the movement of the elephant herd.
On July 31, Diao Faxing monitors the trajectory of wild Asian elephants. Photo by Li Jiaxian
"Elephants must be accurately captured." Diao Faxing said that once Asian elephants are found to pass through the human activity area, the monitors will notify nearby people to avoid it through WeChat groups, mobile phone apps and other forms.
Diao Faxing, a truck driver, became an Asian elephant monitor in 2016 out of curiosity about Asian elephants. In the following years, he grew rapidly, not only familiar with the maps of Jiangcheng County and the habits of Asian elephants, but also proficient in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and Asian elephant monitoring and early warning systems.
While guarding human safety, Asian elephant monitors are also monitoring the health status of each Asian elephant at all times, and once abnormalities are found, they will be reported to the relevant departments in time. "This year I witnessed the birth of four baby elephants, which shows that our protection has been effective." Diao Faxing said happily.
In the past 30 years, under the situation of the continuous reduction of the total number of Asian elephants in the world, the population of wild Asian elephants in China has continued to grow to about 360 at present. While China continues to increase its ecological protection efforts, it is also exploring a unique way for people and elephants to live in harmony with the joint efforts of Zhao Jinqing, Chen Jiming, Diao Faxing and other "elephant protectors". (End)