Recently, there is an elephant herd in Yunnan that has attracted everyone's attention.
This migratory army of 15 Asian elephants,
From Pu'er Mojiang, Yunnan→ Yuxi Yuanjiang → Honghe Prefecture Shiping → Yuxi City, Eshan County,
After walking for more than a month,
So far, I have not stopped my steps and have traveled all the way north.
The wild elephant herds in Yunnan migrated north en masse
412 "accidents" in 40 days
Recently, wild Asian elephants that have migrated north from Mojiang Hani Autonomous County in Pu'er City have entered Eshan County and Hongta District of Yuxi City. In the past few days, it has been active near the county seat of Asan County, which has affected the normal production and life of the local people.
Yunnan wild elephant herd marched to the outside of Eshan County to rest for more than 40 days to destroy 842 acres of crops The Beijing News we produced a video
In just 40 days, the elephant herd "caused" 412 cases in Yuanjiang County and Shiping County, directly destroying 842 mu of crops, and the preliminary estimate of direct economic losses was nearly 6.8 million yuan, seriously affecting the normal production and living order of the local people.
Since the elephant herd moved north, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Yunnan Province and Yuxi City have attached great importance to it, and have predicted and warned in advance. The provincial working group rushed to the scene and sent experts and staff to guide the city and county to carry out monitoring and early warning, safety precautions, publicity and guidance. Through the coordinated efforts at the provincial, municipal, county, township and village levels, no casualties occurred, effectively preventing the movement of Asian elephant herds to densely populated areas such as cities and dam areas. At present, the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau, the Asian Elephant Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, and the governments of Yuxi City and Asan County are making every effort to monitor, prevent and control to ensure the safety of people's lives. Read the full >>>
Previous trajectories of Asian elephants
17 heads become 15 heads
Two elephants drunk and "left behind"
According to the Qilu Evening News, on April 16, 17 Asian elephants "drifting north" entered Yuanjiang County of Yuxi City from Mojiang County of Pu'er City, which is also the first time that wild elephants have entered the territory of Yuanjiang County since there are monitoring data. After a month of activity in The Yuanjiang, 15 Asian elephants set out to continue their journey.
How did the original 17 Asian elephants become 15? According to the staff of the Yuxi City Propaganda Department, the two elephants in the group did not follow the large army because they went to the farmer's house to drink roast wine. The two of them have returned to the Pu'er Mo River together, and the remaining 15 elephants have arrived safely in Shiping, Red River State. According to reports, this is the first time since the founding of New China that wild elephants have entered the territory of Honghe Prefecture.
Image source: Red River State Forestry and Grassland Bureau
After the 15 elephants arrived in Shiping County, they passed through Baoxiu Town, Daqiao Township, and Longwu Town, all the way north, and the straight-line distance passed by about 40 kilometers.
During this period, it also passed several times up and down the mountain, along the way by the staff closely monitored and protected, passing through the nearby villages, was found by the villagers in the cornfield to eat, ate a lot of green corn leaves, trampled on a large piece of cornfield, and pulled a few lumps of rice as a souvenir.
Video source: Yuxi release
According to the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade, at about 16:00 on the 27th, drone reconnaissance showed that the wild elephants were foraging near the Great Tomb Mountain in Asan, and the joint command post tried to use feeding methods to guide the wild elephants, and used large vehicles to mechanically block the peripheral roads to prevent the wild elephants from entering the urban area and causing harm to the lives and property of the people.
The herd of elephants keeps moving forward
An emergency announcement was issued locally
According to CCTV news, the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade introduced that on the evening of the 27th, 15 wild Asian elephants entered the county town of Eshan in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province. At 7 o'clock on the 28th, the elephant herd had left the urban area of Asan County and moved north to the first-line woodland of the ridge of Efeng Mountain on the north side of the county seat.
At present, the crowds in the streets of Asan County have been evacuated, and the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade continues to use the drone target group to carry out surveys and tracking, timely report the latest activity clues of the elephant group, and notify the people along the border to prepare for evacuation as soon as possible.
On the morning of May 28, the Asan County People's Government website released the "Announcement of the Asan County People's Government on Doing a Good Job in preventing and responding to the accidents caused by Asian elephants".
In addition, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Shiping County, Yunnan Province, issued the "Announcement on the Prevention and Protection of Asian Elephants" on the 16th, saying that at about 14:00 on the same day, 15 Asian elephants had moved to the vicinity of the Red Land Village of Xiaoguanshan in Baoxiu Town, the county, and asked the surrounding residents to take safety precautions.
Why did Asian elephants move north?
Expert: It may be that the leader of the elephant herd is inexperienced and lost
"The elephant herd is in a disorderly state, all the way north, which is an incredible behavior." Chen Mingyong, a professor at the School of Ecology and Environment at Yunnan University, explained that this season is when the food of Asian elephants in the forest is not connected, and the food in the mountain forest is more scarce due to the rising altitude to the north, so it is unusual.
At present, the reasons for the northward migration of elephants have not been fully studied. "But one possibility is that the leader of the elephant herd is inexperienced and gets lost." Chen Mingyong said.
An Asian elephant monitor said that in previous years, elephants were afraid to come out and eat crops because people would use various methods to drive them away, which was a deterrent to elephants. "In recent years, the protection of Asian elephants has increased, and elephants know that people will not harm them, so they slowly dare to come to the farmland to collect food." Changes in the elephant's personality have led to an expansion of their range of activities, which may also be one of the reasons for the long-distance migration of the "broken nose family" elephant herd.
Where will the elephants go next?
Will you still go all the way north?
Because the elephant has been going north in a straight line, the initial judgment may be to Longwu Town, Shiping County, and then to Yuxi Asan County, or to the other direction and return to The Yuanjiang. However, the elephant herd is finally in a new place, and it is really impossible to predict where they will go.
For elephants entering the city,
Yunnan has thought of many ways
Photo by Shi Chao
In fact, for the protection of people and elephants, Yunnan has long proposed a variety of methods.
In March 2019, the Forestry Bureau of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province planned to renovate 2,063 mu of Asian elephant habitat in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, build 5 artificial nitrate ponds, and plant 768 mu of Asian elephant food plants such as elephant grass, plantain and bamboo on Yilin barren mountain wasteland and other unsubstantiated woodlands. At that time, the site selection work had been completed, and it may take some time and improvement for the later construction.
In addition, a national nature reserve has long been established in Xishuangbanna, and the elephants that enter the city are currently living in this reserve. I just don't know what prompted them to start this migration from a month ago.
Another way is to establish protective networks in villages and cities in areas where wild elephants are frequented.
In 2017, the Management and Conservation Bureau of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve invested 1.04 million yuan to build China's first Pilot Project of Asian Elephant Village Protective Fence in The Village of Cigarette Basket in Dadugang Township, Jinghong City, welding steel pipes into a 2.2-meter-high protective fence, enclosing the village and effectively reducing the number of elephants entering the village. Obviously, similar protective nets should also be further popularized according to local conditions.
In addition, for elephant injuries, it is also possible to compensate through insurance. Pu'er City has increased the compensation for casualties caused by elephants from 200,000 yuan for one person killed in 2016 to 400,000 yuan today, in this way, directly protecting the interests of local residents. Read the full >>>
What should I do if I encounter an Asian elephant outside?
There are a few prevention guidelines to keep in mind
Understand the basic knowledge of Asian elephant life habits, elephant prevention, elephant protection, elephant avoidance, etc., and improve safety awareness. Keep abreast of early warning messages issued by Asian elephant monitors and carry out production activities outside the area where Asian elephants are active. On the roads where Asian elephants appear, there are no warning signs for Asian elephants, and they follow the advice of Asian elephant monitors and do not move in dangerous areas. In the area where Asian elephants are active, evacuations are requested in accordance with monitor notification. Asian elephants have strong night vision and like to be active at night. For safety, do not go out at night to areas where monitors are prohibited from moving. The barking of the dog will attract Asian elephants to attack the dog and cause other harm. When encountering Asian elephants, keep a distance of at least 300 meters or more, do not watch, do not tease, do not drive, do not frighten, do not hurt, do not panic, and observe the environment to quickly evacuate. In places where Asian elephants often move, avoid wearing brightly colored clothes, pants, and hats, avoid attracting Asian elephants, and inquire more about the activities of nearby Asian elephants from the surrounding masses and experienced people, so as to avoid entering the Asian elephant activity area. Pay attention to the surrounding movements, and observe the scattered plants, footprints, stools, urine and other traces of the Asian elephant after activity.
point of view:
Don't just take the hunting mentality as "all the way to the 'elephant' north"
Wild elephants have been surfing social media since last night. In fact, this group of wild elephants did not suddenly break in, and this wild elephant group has been going out for almost half a year, at least for the local area of Yunnan, it is not a "new thing".
When many netizens watched this wild elephant into the city incident, they somewhat maintained a curious mentality, and even made a certain cute imagination about it. This may be because it is "rare and strange", but it must be reminded that wild elephants are "cute" but extremely fierce. While protecting the safety of wild elephants, the public should also pay attention to safety to prevent the safety of wild elephants from being injured and personal safety.
According to the latest yunnan official report, in just 40 days, the elephant herds have "caused" 412 "accidents" in Yuanjiang County and Shiping County, directly destroying 842 mu of crops, and the preliminary estimate of direct economic losses is nearly 6.8 million yuan, which seriously affects the normal production and living order of the local people. Although there have been no incidents of injury at present, the aggressiveness of this group of wild elephants should not be underestimated.
The Wild Elephant of Asia is at the junction of the Mo and Yuan rivers
In an official notice issued on May 26, the Asan County government also clearly informed that it is dangerous to engage in production activities and travel in asian elephant-infested areas, and it is very easy to cause personal injury. "It is necessary to reasonably arrange labor and travel time to avoid direct conflict with Asian elephants" and "if you encounter Asian elephants in the wild, you should avoid it as soon as possible." This is all a necessary reminder based on the premise that wild elephants are super aggressive.
In fact, preventing wild elephants from hurting people is not alarmist. In Yunnan, where wild elephants are frequently active, there have been many accidents in which wild elephants have caused casualties. In 2019, wild Asian elephants in Xishuangbanna Prefecture frequently caused accidents, and there were four incidents of wild elephant injuries in the local area in 8 days, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 injury; In 2020, a wild elephant injured people in Lancang, Yunnan, and the accident caused 1 death. For this wild elephant "going north", ordinary people must also be vigilant and stay away from the wild elephant at all times to ensure safety.
In particular, it should be reminded that these 15 wild elephants have now "gone out of the circle" in the field of public opinion, which has a huge traffic value. Maybe some network anchors will be eager to move again, and go to the wild elephant haunting places to shoot and broadcast live. But obviously, this is an extremely dangerous behavior, which will not only add a burden to local disposal operations, but also stimulate and disturb elephants, resulting in greater safety risks. Such acts should be eliminated at this time.
In short, the wild elephant entering the city is not a "fun" event, it is related to the protection of wild animals, but also involves public order and the safety of public life and property, which must be taken seriously. At present, the disposal personnel composed of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Yunnan Province, the fire department and other departments have rushed to the scene to closely monitor the whereabouts of the wild elephants, hoping that the local government can scientifically deal with the "northbound" incident of the wild elephants, and at the same time protect the wild elephants, the harm of the wild elephants to the public's life and property will be minimized. Read the full >>>
Related Reading:
15 Asian elephants in Yunnan, why all the way north?
Behind the "elephant" north all the way, what is the solution to the "human-elephant conflict"? | the Beijing News column
Comprehensively compiled from the Beijing News CCTV News Qilu Evening News Eshan County People's Government Network Yunnan release Yuxi release
Edited by Wang Xiaolin Cartographer Chang Jiang Proofreader Lu Qian