Source: Beijing News
Elephant Doctor and "Elephant Dad" in Xishuangbanna
Almost all the wild elephants who have come here have been in some kind of danger.
The male elephants who were defeated in the fight rolled down the cliffs more than eighty meters high; the young elephants who were born weak were rolled up by the mother elephant with their noses and sent to the villages below the mountains; and the 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 Mengyang area. 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." ”
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 applying medicine and infusing fluids, the left front leg is still red and swollen, and the walk is upside down.
"Elephant Doctor" Bao Mingwei carefully examined and found that there was no sprained bone, he was equipped with a potion of purple potion to reduce swelling and pain, "Sheep Girl" thought it was a new toy, his feet dangled in the potion, and he made short, cheerful cries from time to time.
The Sheep Lady has been living in the rescue center for six years. It is timid, and the roar of other wild elephants at night and the roar of cars on the highway may frighten it, and it will have symptoms of body convulsions, vomiting up and down. "Elephant Daddy," Li Tao said, often needing 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 remembered that at that time, its umbilical cord wound was infected with suppuration, resulting in multiple ulcers in the abdominal cavity, and multiple lumps the size of goose eggs were raised on the body. He deduced that it was a baby elephant that had just been born a week or so.
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, did an internal and surgical examination, and made a preliminary diagnosis that it also suffered from symptoms such as arrhythmia 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, 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 more than ten milliliters at a time, and it has to be fed every hour.
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.
Rescue is far harder 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, rescue is far more difficult than expected. 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.
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 River Protection Station in the Mengyang Area, equipped with two staff, but there was no professional veterinarian.
In July 1989, the Mengyang District 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.
No one knows how to feed a baby elephant. The staff compared the feeding methods of other animal cubs, brought large basins of water and milk, and tried to feed them. "That's how I got it." Cao Mengliang gave it a name, "Mengmeng".
Originally, it was planned to wait for the "Mengmeng" to grow up and then 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 and could not get up, gradually unable to 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 may have some congenital diseases, which may be a way for wild animals to survive and naturally eliminate." ”
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. 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.
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.
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.
Zhao Jinqing tried to rescue the wild elephant based on his experience in raising cattle. He bought anti-inflammatory and deworming medicines. The medicine repels the flies, but the wounds of the wild elephants are visible to the naked eye. Later, the reserve invited 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 researching and treating wild elephants, so they could only invite foreign veterinary experts to guide.
Shen Qingzhong realized that an important part of the rescue of wild elephants was missing - professional elephant doctors.
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.
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 Wild Elephant Valley, with a beast clip in its left hind leg, struggling to follow 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 guns saw the opportunity and numbed the baby elephant. 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 an 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 in the Mengyang area.
The baby elephant had a name, "Ranran". The clip was removed, and the wound on the left hind leg was deeply visible with bone, and the flesh was suppurative and infected. After a simple cleaning and anti-inflammatory, the anesthesia effect is almost up, and the veterinarians quickly exit the room. As soon as the baby elephant stood up, it rushed in the direction of the person, constantly hitting the cage. It doesn't eat or drink, it doesn't look at the sugar cane it throws in, and it knocks over the bucket with its nose.
Wound inflammation can lead to sepsis, but the veterinarian can't treat it, and just as it was about to get closer, it flicked its nose 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, and sent the food to the baby elephant, and immediately returned after sending it over. It took almost two weeks to feed him so close that it allowed him to approach.
With the cooperation of the breeder, Bao Mingwei put the external medicine into a high-pressure sprayer, and when Xiong Chaoyong attracted the attention of "Ranran", he took the sprayer and sprayed it on the leg of "Ranran" a few times, and then quickly ran away. He also modified a blowpipe that could stand a distance of one or two0 meters and "blow" the medicine into it.
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 and record various physical indications.
At the beginning, Bao Mingwei compared the data with people and simply judged whether "Ranran" was fever or inflammation. Later, more and more data was collected, and he compared the "natural" state under different data to summarize a set of indicators suitable for wild elephants.
"It may not be 100% accurate, but at least it can provide a reference standard during the treatment process." Bao Mingwei smiled.
With the experience of treating "Ranran", the rescue center has one or two successful rescue cases every year. In 2007, they rescued a badly 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. Human medical instruments, B-ultrasound equipment, etc. were all taken to the scene, and it was impossible to penetrate the thick elephant skin at all, and it was even difficult to clarify 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 the normal range he had summarized.
The "mediocre" surgery should be considered a success, but it lost its fertility and was accompanied by lifelong urinary incontinence.
Shen Qingzhong recorded this 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, when 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 constantly updated.
"Like Daddy"
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.
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 recalled that some keepers worked for several months, just became familiar with elephants and left, and some were poached by the wildlife park with high salaries.
When there are new employees who apply, Chen Jiming will pour cold water at the beginning, "The elephant looks very cute and docile, but in fact, this job is bitter, tired and dangerous, can you stick to it?" ”
In the day and night with wild elephants, the breeder has a title, "Elephant Daddy", which gives responsibility and affection to the job.
Elephants began to understand simple instructions, such as the Dai words "Mai" (come" and "Bai" (go"), and could cooperate with Bao Mingwei's examination, open their mouths, lift the hooves of the elephants, and even distinguish their own keepers from other elephant keepers. They began to get close to humans and depend on them.
The rescue center is located in the center of the Mengyang area, surrounded by mountains, close to a tributary of the Sancha River, and wild elephants often pass by here.
Shen Qingzhong compared and observed the activities of elephants in the rescue center with the nearby elephant herds, and found that wild elephants are always walking, and an elephant herd may move 10 kilometers a day, and when the 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 on a small scale within the protected area.
But the elephants seem to have adapted to captivity and are reluctant to leave the lodge. 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 has some contradictions, in the process of treatment, the wild elephant began to trust people, rely on people, and even inseparable from people, "but the rescue of wild elephants, one day to return to the wild to survive." ”
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".
But in fact, until now, in the rescue work of wild elephants, the rescue center is still facing failure and death. "The rescue of Asian elephants, especially for lactating juvenile elephants, is a world problem." 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 Shen Qingzhong admitted, "Our knowledge and understanding of Asian elephants is too small, and the rescue is still in a very early stage." ”
Cao Mengliang has questioned that the current rescue model makes wild elephants completely dependent on people, and the elephant festival held every year is placed with a fruit feast, which is very solemn, 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 accidentally encountered elephants in the wild, they ran faster than "Elephant Daddy".
Other wild elephants who have experienced serious injuries may recur at any time. For example, "Ranran", Bao Mingwei can't remember how many times its scars have been torn, and when it is active in the wild, it encounters a slightly steep slope, and its scars may be torn when the action is large.
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." ”
June 27-30
The elephant herd continues to move in the woodland near the town of Tadian in Asan County. The provincial command headquarters requires that we continue to do a good job in keeping an eye on the elephant, managing people, settling claims, and assisting in relocation. The elephant is located in the northeast direction of the elephant herd, 53.6 kilometers away from the elephant herd, and moves in the woodland near Beicheng Street in Hongta District, Yuxi City.
July 1-4
The herds of elephants enter the town of Hua Nian and continue to move.
July 5-6
The elephant herd continued to move south, entering the woodland near Guishan Street in Xinping County to move and rest. The solo elephant is located in the northeast direction of the elephant herd, about 70 kilometers away from the elephant herd, and moves near the Beicheng Street in Hongta District, Yuxi City. The 15 elephants are within the monitoring range, and the human elephants are safe.
15:00 on July 7
The solo elephants safely returned to the habitat of the Mengyang area of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.
Since July 5, the elephant has entered the Batang community of Beicheng Street in Yuxi City, only 0.3 kilometers away from the Jinhong Expressway and only 0.2 kilometers away from the Kunyu Intercity Railway. In order to ensure the safety of the human and elephant, after research and judgment, the on-site command headquarters took measures to capture them in accordance with the emergency response plan. At 15:00 on July 7, the solo elephant has been safely transferred to its original habitat, and the physiological indicators are normal, and it has returned to the habitat safely.
The northward outlier left the northward Asian elephant herd on 6 June this year and has been alone for 32 days.
July 11
The herds have moved south to Longwu Town, Shiping County, Honghe Prefecture, and are active in the nearby woodland. The elephant herd is within the monitoring range, and the human elephant is safe.
Beijing News reporter Xiao Weiwei