On June 17, 2021, in the tropical rainforest of the Wild Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, two Asian elephants from the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center were playing, and "Elephant Dad" was guarding it. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Almost all the wild elephants who have come here have been in some kind of danger.
Bull elephants who were defeated in a fight rolled down cliffs more than eighty meters high; juvenile elephants who were born with weak bodies were rolled up by the mother elephant and sent to the villages below the mountain; even wild elephants who fell into mud ponds and reservoirs and were trapped by traps and clips against wild boars.
They were taken to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in the Mengyangzi Reserve. Now here, there are 7 wild elephants rescued and sheltered.
In charge of this project is Shen Qingzhong, director of the Institute of Ecology of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve and senior engineer. He said that in 2005, the rescue center successfully rescued an injured wild elephant - the female elephant "Ranran" who was caught in the left hind leg of the beast, and the center has participated in 24 rescue operations for Asian elephants so far.
In fact, for a long time, the rescue of Asian elephants failed far more than succeeded.
"In particular, the rescue of lactating baby elephants is currently a world-class problem." Shen Qingzhong said that each rescue is a process of exploration, but also to provide experience for the next rescue, "rescue them, let them return to the wild, this is our ultimate goal." ”
On June 21, "Elephant Doctor" Bao Mingwei examined a wild elephant. Beijing News reporter Xiao Weiwei photographed
Baby Elephant "Sheep Girl"
The "sheep girl" broke her foot.
One day at the end of May, it went into the mountains to play and tripped over the raised roots. After nearly a month of smearing and infusion, the left front leg was still red and swollen, looking at a large circle, walking upside down, and knocking on the iron railing with his leg from time to time.
"Elephant Doctor" Bao Mingwei carefully examined its injured leg, fortunately did not sprain the bone, he was equipped with a pot of swelling and pain relief purple potion, "Sheep Girl" was so excited, thinking it was a new toy, his feet dangled in the potion, and from time to time he made a short, cheerful cry.
The Sheep Lady has been living in the rescue center for six years. It is weaker than other juvenile elephants, the same is a cold or diarrhea, the same age of the "little strong" to take a pill is good, "sheep girl" to infusion, take medicine, stay up for more than half a month, or even longer.
It is timid, and the roar of other wild elephants at night, the sound of cars on the road, may frighten it, and there will be symptoms of body convulsions, vomiting up and down diarrhea. "Elephant Daddy" Li Tao remembers that it often needs to be guarded all night, touching it and comforting it.
In August 2015, when she was found in the courtyard of a family in Olive Dam Village, Simao District, Pu'er City, the "sheep girl" was so weak that she could hardly stand up. Bao Mingwei remembers that at that time, its umbilical cord wound was infected with pus, and multiple lumps the size of goose eggs protruded from its body, and due to umbilical cord infection, it caused multiple ulcers in the abdominal cavity. He deduced that it was a baby elephant that had just been born a week or so, although it appeared to be thinner than the newborn baby elephant.
There was no treatment in the village, and after simple debridement and anti-inflammatory, it fell into multiple comas and even went into shock in the four or five hours it drove to the rescue center. "The pressure is very high, and I am worried that once I pass out, I will not be able to save my life." Shen Qingzhong said.
At the rescue center, the "sheep girl" is placed in an empty room with a bunk bed in the corner, and four keepers take turns to take care of it.
Bao Mingwei and veterinary experts from Kunming treated the wound together, did an internal and surgical examination, and made a preliminary diagnosis, and it also suffered from symptoms such as irregular heart rate and heart failure. Elephant experts from Thailand also came and agreed on a cure plan.
Baby elephants do not have molars and can only drink milk. Some experts mentioned that the nutrition of goat's milk is close to elephant milk, and Bao Mingwei found several sheep to raise in the rescue center. The name "Sheep Lady" was shouted like this.
But it has not yet learned to use the elephant trunk, when drinking water, the nose hangs softly, directly blocking the mouth, "elephant father" Chen Ji remembered, at that time had to hold up the elephant trunk with his hand, feed it with a bottle, it can only drink a dozen milliliters at a time, every hour to feed.
After more than half a month of treatment, the "sheep girl" slowly got out of the danger of life. But at the time, no one dared to pack a ticket to really save it. After all, veterinary experts at home and abroad have even issued "death notices" to it.
Shen Qingzhong said that before the "sheep girl" came to the rescue center, there were no cases of lactating baby elephants being successfully rescued in China, not to mention that the "sheep girl" was the youngest baby elephant when it was rescued.
On June 21, "Elephant Doctor" Bao Mingwei examined the molars of a wild elephant. Beijing News reporter Xiao Weiwei photographed
Rescuing wild elephants is far more difficult than expected
Participating in the rescue of wild elephants for more than thirty years, Shen Qingzhong can't count how many times the staff of the reserve have "picked up" baby elephants.
Unfortunately, it is far harder than expected to rescue them. Some were already dying when they were found, some were rescued for more than 40 days, but still could not be rescued, and some young elephants grew up to be three or four years old in the rescue station, and finally died.
In July 1989, the Mengyangzi Conservation Area Aid Station received the first trapped baby elephant. It was a baby elephant that had just been born a few days ago and had fallen into a mud pit formed by a landslide.
Previously, when rangers patrolled the mountain, they found that the baby elephants that had fallen alone would be sent to the Kunming Zoo. "There has been no condition to rescue the elephants." Cao Mengliang, former director of the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, introduced that in 1988, the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Management Bureau was established, and a simple rescue station was set up at the Sanchahe Protection Station of the Mengyangzi Nature Reserve, equipped with two staff, but there was still no professional veterinarian, let alone professional medical equipment.
No one knows how to feed a baby elephant. The staff followed the feeding patterns of other animal cubs, bringing large basins of water and milk and trying to feed them. "That's how I got it." Cao Mengliang gave it a name, "Mengmeng".
Before the establishment of the rescue center, "Mengmeng" was the first wild elephant rescued by the Mengyangzi Conservation Area. This is the largest area in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, centered on the Sancha River Conservation Station, two forest areas in the east and west, like two wings extending outwards, 1.5 million acres of forest with more than 170 Asian elephants.
Asian elephants Xiaoqiang (left) and Ah Bao (right) play in the forest of wild elephant valley in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, on June 17, 2021. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Originally, it was planned that when "Mengmeng" grew up a little longer, he would release it into the wild. Cao Mengliang recalled that around the third year, "Mengmeng" grew to more than 500 kilograms, suddenly fell ill, collapsed on the ground, could not climb up, and gradually could not even eat, and the whole body festered.
The aid station found a veterinarian, and also invited veterinary experts from the Kunming Zoo, but the cause could not be found. Cao Mengliang analyzed, "Abandoned baby elephants, nine times out of ten, may have some congenital diseases, which may be the survival law of wild animals, a way of natural elimination." ”
On a few occasions, rescue stations rescued trapped wild elephants. In the 1990s, wild elephants began to leave the reserves and feed on crops in the farmland. From time to time, wild elephants fall into the reservoir dug by farmers and cannot climb out.
The digging cart and crane could not drive in, so the onlookers worked together to "fish" the elephant out. Li Zhongyuan, director of the Yebao Station of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, remembers that some villagers found the largest bamboo fence in the village, wrapped the elephant, tied a thick rope, and like a tug-of-war game, people hugged people, dragged them backwards, and fished out this behemoth. "As soon as it got out of trouble, it ran away."
In the autumn of 1998, Zhao Jinqing, a ranger in Nanping Village, Mengla County, found a seriously injured wild elephant in his rice field, with a torn abdomen and an obvious wound on his right hind leg.
At that time, there was no veterinarian in the reserve to treat elephants, and Zhao Jinqing was instructed to observe the condition of wild elephants every day.
Zhao Jinqing watched the wild elephant move slowly and weakly day by day. Swarms of flies surrounded the behemoth, and Zhao Jinqing could even smell the fishy smell of rotten flesh. "It seems that I don't have the strength to find food anymore."
Zhao Jinqing tried to rescue the wild elephant based on his experience in raising cattle. He bought anti-inflammatory and insect repellent medicine for livestock, wrapped the top of the long bamboo pole with a rotten cloth, poured the medicine, and rolled it to its legs little by little, at first once or twice, as soon as the bamboo pole approached, it rolled up with its nose and threw it to the side, and later it seemed to be accustomed to Zhao Jinqing's approach, or perhaps it was too weak to resist, and Zhao Jinqing helped it apply the medicine several times.
The medicine repels the flies, but the wounds of the wild elephants are visible to the naked eye. Later, the reserve brought in veterinary experts. But still to no avail, the wild elephant eventually fell into the rice field.
Shen Qingzhong said that at that time, local veterinarians basically dealt with domestic livestock, and there was no veterinarian in China who specialized in studying and treating wild elephants, so they could only invite foreign veterinary experts to guide them.
Shen Qingzhong realized that an important part of the rescue of wild elephants was missing - professional elephant doctors.
On June 17, 2021, in the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Yunnan, China, "Elephant Daddy" rubbed medicine for the Asian elephant "Sheep Lady" whose foot was injured. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Elephant Doctor
In 2000, Shen Qingzhong recruited three graduates of the Yunnan Provincial College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine to work in the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area, and Bao Mingwei was one of them.
For the first year or two, Bao Mingwei's workplace was in the rainforest, dealing with peacocks and snakes, and was also responsible for the breeding of the Bird Park. Later, he was involved in several wildlife rescues organized by the forestry department, assisting other veterinary specialists in treating wounds for bison, red deer and monkeys.
Rescuing an elephant is very different, "it is very fierce, very uncooperative, and once we get close, it is particularly aggressive." ”
In 2005, Bao Mingwei was involved in the rescue of an injured baby elephant for the first time. It was found in a pond near the Valley of wild elephants, with a beast clip on its left hind leg, struggling to follow the herd.
It is even more difficult to rescue a wounded elephant from the herd. After a few days of observation, the baby elephant walked slower and slower, and was pushed by the mother elephant to follow the team. Veterinary experts with an anesthesia gun saw the opportunity, and ten minutes later, the baby elephant fell to the ground under anesthesia. The elephants were frightened, and seven or eight female elephants came around and pulled it by the nose, trying to hold it up, refusing to leave.
The anesthetic effect can only last for one hour, the treatment time is urgent, had to use riot bombs and tear gas, as soon as the elephants ran away, dozens of people rushed over, moved the baby elephants on stretchers, and carried them to the aid station of the Mengyangzi Conservation Area. The herd of elephants folded back and stood around the wild elephant valley, roaring.
It had a name, "Ranran". As soon as the clip was removed, the wound on the left hind leg was too large, the bone was deeply visible, and the skin and flesh had become purulent and infected. Can only be simply cleaned, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic effect is coming, the veterinarians quickly exit the room, the baby elephant stood up, it rushed in the direction of the person, constantly bumping the cage, it does not eat or drink, thrown into the sugarcane it does not look at, but also with the nose to overturn the bucket.
After the rusty clip causes the wound to become inflamed, it is likely to cause sepsis, but the veterinarian cannot treat it. A veterinarian was just about to approach when his nose flicked on the veterinarian's head. Some foreign experts suggest that euthanasia can be implemented.
Bao Mingwei disagreed, he felt that the baby elephant was aggressive precisely because of its will to survive.
When the "elephant trainer" Xiong Chaoyong first saw Ranran, its ears and tail were erect, and its eyes were fierce, and Xiong Chaoyong knew that this was a state of alertness. It is locked into an elephant house with an iron railing that can block wild elephants and allow "elephant fathers" to pass through it.
Xiong Chaoyong stood outside the iron fence, took a step inside, sent the food to the baby elephant, and immediately retreated after sending it over, slowly it did not feel threatened, began to eat, when Xiong Chaoyong came closer, it remained alert, just like this, not far away for nearly two weeks, it allowed him to approach.
With the cooperation of the breeder, Bao Mingwei thought of a way to load the external medicine into a high-pressure sprayer, Xiong Chaoyong attracted the attention of "Ranran", he took the sprayer, sprayed at the legs of "Ranran", sprayed a few times, and when the "Ranran" reacted, he quickly ran away.
He also modified a blowpipe that could stand a distance of one or two0 meters and "blow" the medicine into it. When "Ran" did not pay attention, he turned to its side and aimed at the neck with the thinnest elephant skin and blew. At first, the air port was not well mastered, the range was always close and far, the needle tube fell to the ground, and slowly, it also blew out the experience.
The problem of taking the drug was solved, and the wound of "Ranran" soon grew new flesh. Its guard against people has relaxed, and the "elephant doctor" Bao Mingwei can also approach it, recording various physical indications, its body temperature fluctuations, white blood cells and blood routine data, and so on.
At the beginning, Bao Mingwei compared the data with people and simply judged whether "Ranran" was fever or inflammation. Later, more and more data were collected, and he compared the "ran" state under different data to summarize a set of indicators suitable for wild elephants, such as the body temperature of elephants between 35.5 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius, and the white blood cell parameter between 1.5 and 1.8, "It looks like a more comfortable state, which can be used as a normal physical condition." ”
"It may not be 100% accurate, but at least it can provide a reference standard during the treatment process." Bao Mingwei smiled, "More and more data will be collected in the future, and then slowly explore." ”
With the experience of treating "Ranran", the rescue center has one or two successful rescue cases every year. In 2007, they rescued a seriously injured female elephant, Pingping. "Pingping" is injured by a bull elephant in estrus during lactation. When ranger Zhao Jinqing found it, it tore a long wound on its hip and its legs were soaked with blood-colored pus.
The operation, which was jointly completed by Bao Mingwei and veterinary experts and gynecologists at home and abroad, was extremely tricky. It has a high fever and a strong inflammation. Human medical instruments, B-ultrasound equipment, etc. were brought to the scene, and it was impossible to penetrate the thick elephant skin, and it was even difficult to determine the injuries inside its body at that time.
Bao Mingwei remembered that the operation was done four times, scraping the rotten flesh of the wound layer by layer, groping for the operation until its physical indication tended to be the normal range he had summarized, indicating that "its physical condition was improving."
The "flat" surgery should be considered a success, but some of the pain remained on it forever, and it lost its fertility and was accompanied by lifelong urinary incontinence.
Shen Qingzhong recorded the case and shared it with rangers and monitors, hoping to apply it to the conservation of Asian elephants. "If we find that the male elephant in estrus is rejected by the female elephant, and there is a conflict, we can immediately have some countermeasures, and once there is an injury, we can quickly intervene and treat, and the situation may not be so serious."
With the increase in the number of cases of rescue of wild elephants, Bao Mingwei's wild elephant "case database" is also constantly updated.
Shen Qingzhong remembered that a flash flood broke out, once washed a wild elephant into a swollen river ditch, the water was deep and turbulent, and after the wild elephant was rescued, it was caused by a serious lung infection due to choking water, and it could not be rescued. Later, when he encounters an elephant that falls into the pond, he will be the first to remind him to find a way to release the water and lower the water level, "You can't let it stay in the water for a long time, once you choke on the water, it may lead to lung infection." ”
In 2016, near the Wild Elephant Valley Nitan Pond, there was a pregnant female elephant in the elephant herd, soaking in the water for several days, drinking water vigorously, and using the trunk to throw the water on the body. Based on the symptoms, Bao Mingwei judged that it may be high fever. So the staff threw away some fruit wrapped in pills.
After taking the pills, its symptoms did not improve, and after two days, it suddenly collapsed and died, and when the monitoring results came out, it turned out that the baby elephant in its abdomen had long died, resulting in a serious infection. "In the future, when we encounter similar situations like this, we may consider whether this is the cause, and many treatment plans may be implemented in advance, and we may be able to protect it." Bao Mingwei said.
On June 17, 2021, "Elephant Daddy" bathed in the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Yunnan, China. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
"Like Daddy"
After the "Ranran" operation, the left hind leg left a long scar, the movement is limited, the range of movement is large, and the wound may be torn open. Xiong Chaoyong stayed and became its first breeder. In 2008, the elephant house of the rescue center was built, and Ranran and Pingping, who had just completed surgery, lived in it.
Later, there was "Kun Liu" who fought with the male elephant and fell off a cliff and was rescued; the lone elephant "Xiao Qiang", who was isolated at the age of one; the "Ah Bao" who broke into pu'er city and wandered for a few days; and the "Wei Zhao", who smashed more than a dozen cars.
They have a name, they have their own elephant house, and they have their own keepers.
There is no room for error in the daily care after surgery. When feeding the medicine, "Elephant Daddy" Chen Jiming put the pills in carrots, bananas and elephant grass, but "Pingping" is very smart, has a good memory, and can remember after eating the pills once, and the next time he feeds, he has to change another food to wrap the pills, "Feed a medicine, and fight with it."
When he was on duty at night, Chen Ji remembered that in the surveillance, he often saw "Kun Liu" lying on the ground struggling, and it could not get up again. Chen Jiming found other keepers, and more than a dozen people were woken up in their sleep and ran from the dormitory to help the four- or five-ton "Kunliu" turn over.
Not many keepers remained. Applicants who came to the rescue center were initially enthusiastic and caring for elephants, some working as elephant keepers at zoos, some as breeding students, and some from nearby villages. Chen Jiming counted that some of the keepers had been working for months, and had just become familiar with the elephants and left, and some had been poached by the wildlife park with high salaries.
When there are new employees who come to apply, he will pour cold water at the beginning, "The elephant looks cute and docile, but in fact, this job is bitter and tiring and dangerous, can you stick with it?" ”
Slowly, in the day and night with the wild elephants, the breeders came to a title, "Elephant Daddy", which gave responsibility and affection to the job.
For some time, Shen Qingzhong compared the activities of the elephants in the rescue center with the elephant herds in the vicinity. He found that wild elephants are always walking, and a herd of elephants may move 10 kilometers a day, and when food conditions are not good, it may go 15 to 20 kilometers. He soon realized that wild elephants could not always be kept in narrow elephant houses, nor could they only eat a few foods provided by humans, but should be released into the wild, eating diverse plants, and "exercising physically in nature."
Rescue center elephants began to operate in small areas within the protected area. The rescue center is located in the heart of the Mengyangzi Conservation Area, surrounded by mountains, close to a tributary of the Sancha River, and often passed by wild elephants.
These elephants began to understand some simple instructions, such as the Dai words "Mai" (come" and "Bai" (go" (go), and could cooperate with Bao Mingwei's examination, open their mouths, raise the hooves of the elephants, and even distinguish their own keepers from other elephant keepers. They begin to be close to people and dependent on people.
At first, they seemed to have adapted to captivity and were reluctant to leave the elephant house. Every morning, one "elephant father" needs to take a carrot to tempt it to go outside, another "elephant father" pulls its ears, carries it forward, and in the evening returns to the elephant house, performs well, and gets the reward of food.
As soon as they walked out of the elephant house, they walked towards the mountain like joy, but after running a few steps, they had to stop and wait for "Elephant Daddy". I went into the mountain, found a meadow, and began to eat as I walked. Elephants stop and go, "elephant dad" also walks and stops, and has to walk 20,000 or 30,000 steps a day.
Bao Mingwei initially had some contradictions, in the process of treatment, the wild elephant began to trust people, rely on people, and even inseparable from people, "after all, the rescued wild elephants will one day return to the wild to survive." ”
But in the process of treatment, the keeper must find a way to communicate with the wild elephants to ensure the safety of people, "to be able to communicate with them, to save them, at that time is the most important, very naturally generated feelings." ”
The "sheep girl" reached about one year old, had molars, could drink hundreds of milliliters of goat's milk at a time, and began to eat a little fruit, and "Elephant Daddy" would take it to the outdoor grass every day to play for a while.
But it always follows "like daddy". Once in the wild, when the "sheep girl" ate tender grass, she accidentally ate a mandala, and after poisoning, she reacted greatly, and after a while she was excited to no, and then she was depressed, vomiting and diarrhea. Bao Mingwei quickly fed it antidote medicine, gave it an infusion, and after slowly calming down, the spirit of the "sheep girl" was too weak to do it.
The "elephant fathers" realized that the "sheep chicks" might need to follow the mother elephant like other baby elephants, learning how to use the elephant trunk and how to find food. When he went up the mountain again, Chen Jiming led the "sheep girls" behind the female elephants "Ranran" and "Pingping", but as soon as they got closer, they ran far away and were unwilling to play with the "sheep girls".
Bao Mingwei analyzed that it may be that "the sheep girl drinks goat's milk and has a heavier smell on her body." He brought a bucket of female elephant feces and smeared it on the "sheep girl", covering the smell of sheep on her body. They finally accepted the "sheep girl".
On June 17, 2021, in the tropical rainforest of the Wild Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, asian elephants at the Breeding and Rescue Center for Asian elephant breeding and rescue were undergoing rewilding training, and "Elephant Daddy" was guarding it. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Release puzzles
The elephant house in the rescue center was almost full. In addition to the rescued and sheltered wild elephants, the breeding of Asian elephants is also undertaken here, and 9 baby elephants have been born here so far.
Shen Qingzhong believes that with the increase of the population of Asian elephants, the rescue of Asian elephants must be a long-term work, and the rescue center will exist as an "elephant hospital".
In fact, until now, in the rescue work of wild elephants, the rescue centers are still facing failure and death. "The rescue of Asian elephants, especially for lactating juvenile elephants, is a world problem." Shen Qingzhong said frankly, "Our knowledge and understanding of Asian elephants is too small, and the rescue is still in a very early stage. ”
Shen Qingzhong knew that the work was far from enough to rely on the strength of the rescue center. Many years ago, the rescue center began to try to cooperate with universities, scientific research institutions and hospitals to carry out some basic research on Asian elephants.
But the rescue centers still face many real-world challenges. Shen Qingzhong introduced that relying on the wildlife protection project in the six major forestry key projects of the State Forestry Administration in 2002, the rescue center was originally planned and prepared as a breeding base, especially the design of the elephant house, which was not suitable for wild elephant treatment. "The space is too small, the people and elephants are not isolated, the cleaning, disinfection and feeding are all in one space, and there are no facilities to control the wild elephants, which is likely to be dangerous during the treatment process."
The operation of the rescue center in the later stage was undertaken by the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area. Shen Qingzhong calculated that the cost of bailout for each Asian elephant is at least 500,000 yuan a year. "To this day, there is no financial support from special funds. The development of work and the stability of talents are greatly limited, and there is great instability, if the scenic spot operation is profitable, but once the scenic spot operation loss, it is very troublesome. ”
Cao Mengliang, former director of the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, has questioned that the current rescue model makes wild elephants completely dependent on people, and the elephant festival held every year is very grand, which is very grand, is this changing the purpose of rescue? “
"The original intention of the rescue center should be to provide assistance to wild elephants when they encounter difficulties or dangers, and its difficulties are solved, the rescue is completed, and finally it is returned to nature healthily, and rescue is a job to protect Asian elephants." He said.
In fact, Shen Qingzhong said that in recent years, the rescue center has been constantly exploring and designing the release route of wild elephants.
But wild elephants in rescue centers have a hard time adapting to the wild anymore. "Sheep Girls" and "Xiao Qiang" grew up in rescue centers almost from an early age, spending more time with people than elephants, and when they stumble upon elephants in the wild, they run faster than "Elephant Daddy". "Ah Bao" was once taken to the forest two kilometers away by "Elephant Daddy", "Elephant Daddy" secretly left and returned to the rescue center, and soon "Ah Bao" returned to the elephant house in the same way. Xiong Chaoyong said, "In their consciousness, the elephant house is their home. ”
And other wild elephants that have experienced serious injuries, old diseases may recur at any time, such as "Ranran", Bao Mingwei can't remember how many times its scars have been torn, when it is active in the wild, it encounters a slightly steep slope, the action is large, its scars may be torn, and the "flat" urinary incontinence has not fully recovered so far.
On June 17, 2021, in the wild elephant valley rainforest of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, the "Elephant Daddy" of the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center led an Asian elephant into the rainforest. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
"After a long time with people, they return to the wild, and the elephant herd is more likely not to accept them." Bull elephants living alone are likely to be hurt again by other bull elephants. Shen Qingzhong said.
"KunLiu" is now the tallest male elephant in the rescue center, but just three years ago, when it was grazing in the mountains two or three hundred meters away from the elephant house, a male elephant suddenly rushed out and wrestled with it, "Kunliu" was blind in his right eye, his movements were not so agile, and he was soon at a disadvantage, and his body was poked out of several blood holes by the male elephant with ivory.
Shen Qingzhong believes that objectively, the rescue center also does not have the conditions for release into the wild. Before being released, first of all, we must do long-term rewilding training for wild elephants, and we must also be able to monitor how well they adapt after returning to nature and whether they can survive. Only when the conditions are ripe can the rescue center apply to the state forestry department for expert assessment to determine whether it can be released.
"Release must be our ultimate goal to rescue wild elephants." But that's not something that simply pulls it into a forest hundreds of kilometers away. Rushing back into nature is likely to be the day when the wild elephant is about to die. Shen Qingzhong said, "In the matter of rescuing wild elephants, we still have a long way to go." ”
Chen Jiming has imagined countless times the scene of releasing the "sheep girl". He was always worried that the "sheep girl" would encounter such and such a dilemma again, but he knew in his heart that that day would eventually come, and the "sheep girl" would eventually return to the wild, "I look forward to the day when it comes back to see me with its baby, and then I can say that the rescue of it is really successful." ”