August 12
It is the 11th World Elephant Day
The xinhua daily telegraph focuses on the Asian elephant in Yunnan
Love, elephant, and follow
Diao Faxing uses a drone to monitor the elephant herd, and not far away an Asian elephant is foraging
12 August is the 11th World Elephant Day. In Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, Asian elephant monitors "move with elephants" day and night. Diao Faxing, 47, is one of them.
Every day, Diao Faxing had to confirm the location of the elephant herd near the village before the villagers went out at dawn. "Elephants are very spiritual, they can feel people's kindness, so they are not afraid when they are closer to people now." But we still hope that the villagers will keep their distance from the wild elephants and ensure safety. ”
After years of "chasing elephants", he was familiar with all the elephants in the area and gave each elephant a name. In recent years, the number of local elephants has been increasing, and every time a baby elephant is born, Diao Faxing is like an extra family member. "While more elephants mean more work, it also means we're well protected." Diao Faxing said proudly.
In Jiangcheng County, there are 10 elephant monitors like Diao Faxing. They are familiar with the personality, diet, course of action and health of each elephant, and monitor, track and observe the elephant herd 24 hours a day, "walking" with the elephant and guarding the safety of the human elephant.
Diao Faxing (right) observes wild elephants near the village
In the early morning, Diao Faxing (right) uses a drone to confirm the location of asian elephants near the village
Diao Faxing reports the location of Asian elephants
Diao Faxing was observing the elephant herd
Diao Faxing was reporting on the movements of the elephant herd
China's wild elephants usher in "baby boom"
"The two baby elephants born on the way north of the elephant herd have both gained a circle of fat, and this year the elephant herd has given birth to a baby elephant..." said Guo Xianming, an elephant expert. In just over a year, this group of stars in Yunnan has been like 3 times Tim Ding, which surprised and surprised him.
Elephant herds entering the peak of fertility are not unique. From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, the employees of Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley monitored and found that there were 6 newborn baby elephants in the 4 elephant herds active in the Wild Elephant Valley; Several elephant herds active in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, the number of wild elephants has continued to increase in recent years, and 4 new baby elephants have been added this year... Front-line monitors have reported that wild Asian elephant herds active in Xishuangbanna and Pu'er have had baby elephants born in almost every herd every year in recent years.
Asian elephants feed in a village in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province
Simultaneous monitoring shows that by the end of 2021, the number of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan is about 360, an increase of more than 60 from 293 in 2018. The data confirms that China's wild elephants have ushered in a "baby boom".
The Asian elephant is the largest extant terrestrial animal in Asia, the flagship species of tropical forest ecosystem, listed by China as a national priority protected wildlife, and assessed as an "endangered" species by the IUCN. In China, wild Asian elephants are mainly distributed in xishuangbanna, Pu'er and Lincang prefectures in Yunnan.
"Asian elephants are the most pregnant of terrestrial mammals." Guo Xianming, director of the Scientific Research Institute of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, said that the pregnancy period of elephants is generally 20 to 22 months, usually only one litter per litter, and the young elephants are breastfed from breastfeeding to three or four years old after birth, until the mother elephant becomes pregnant again, so its natural growth rate is not high.
Herds of elephants feed in the mountains and forests of Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province
"The continuous strengthening of protection and the reduction of human interference are important reasons for the increase in the birth rate of Asian elephants in China in recent years." Chen Mingyong, a professor at the School of Ecology and Environment of Yunnan University, said that Yunnan has effectively reduced "human-elephant conflicts" by strengthening the protection and restoration of Asian elephant habitats, strengthening the construction of monitoring and early warning, safety precautions and emergency response systems.
In areas where wild elephants operate, villagers are kind and tolerant of wild elephants, despite the potential to destroy crops. The 43-year-old Wang Chuan's family is in the old village of Manke in Kangping Township, Jiangcheng County, and there are currently two groups of 12 wild elephants around the village, including newborn "baby elephants". "When the villagers saw the wild elephants coming, they stayed far away, not disturbing them, and did not drive the wild elephants away." Wang Chuan said, "If wild elephants destroy grain and farmland, the insurance bought by the government will pay compensation." ”
The increase in the number of wild elephants of childbearing age is also one of the reasons why wild elephants have ushered in a "baby boom". With the overall upward growth of the Asian elephant population, there are more female and male wild elephants entering the sexual maturity stage, and the population structure is healthy, which is conducive to reproduction.
China has given full consideration to the Migration Corridor for Asian Elephants in its new infrastructure to avoid poor population communication. At the beginning of the design of the China-Laos Railway, the relevant agencies investigated the distribution of wild elephants and their migration channels, and the route plan avoided the main activity areas of wild elephants. Some roads also provide migration routes for Asian elephants through culverts and bridges.
Asian elephants continue to have an abundance of food sources, and the shortening of feeding cycles and pregnancies has also contributed to the increase in fertility. Chen Mingyong said that the "diet" of Asian elephants has expanded from more than 100 kinds of food in the 1980s to more than 240 kinds today, and they especially prefer nutrient-rich "refined grains" such as corn, rice and sugar cane, which are planted in large areas, concentrated in distribution, and easy to eat, and the time spent on Asian elephants to feed is greatly shortened, and there is more time for play, communication and reproduction. Long-term monitoring also found that some wild elephants give birth around 18 months of pregnancy, and the pregnancy period shows a trend of shortening.
The elephant herd passes through a village in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province
Chen Mingyong, Guo Xianming and other interviewed experts believe that under the situation that the total number of Asian elephants in the world tends to decrease, China's wild Asian elephants have ushered in a "baby boom", which is a direct embodiment of the improvement of the regional ecological environment and the continuous improvement of Asian elephant protection, and is a landmark achievement of China's ecological civilization construction and biodiversity conservation.
At the same time, the continuous growth of the number of wild elephants has also brought new tests to the protection and management of Asian elephants and the promotion of harmony between humans and elephants. In this regard, China is planning to build an Asian elephant national park in Yunnan. Chen Mingyong said: "The national park will take more scientific and powerful measures to protect wild elephants and their habitats and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and elephants. ”
The elephant herd passes through a village in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province
Author: Wu Xiaoyang, Zhao Peiran, Wang Mingyu
Photo: Jiang Wenyao
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Editor: Ma Zhenglin
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