In recent days, more than 30 wild Asian elephants in Kangping Town, Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province have gathered in the corn field foraging foraging. Monitoring personnel have recorded rare scenes of 4 young elephants eating in the same frame. On the evening of th

In the past few days,

many wild Asian elephants

have gathered in the cornfields to feed

l0Monitors even recorded the rare scene of

young elephants feeding in the same frame

2 On the evening of the 112th, at a tea field in Manlaojie Village, three adult wild Asian elephants and a baby came to a cornfield leisurely. The family sometimes played by the pool and sometimes foraged together.

As night fell, the surrounding elephant herds gradually moved in with their babies.

Wild Asian Elephant Monitor of Pu’er Detachment, Yunnan Forest Fire Corps Guo Yuanfeng: "Beside the water cellar, the elephants first played in the mud. Then the elephant family came over with their baby elephants, and suddenly they discovered that there were four baby elephants in our picture. This was the first time we discovered it during the monitoring, and I was very excited. The ecological environment has improved, and our protection measures have been continuously improved, and our elephant family continues to grow. "

According to the staff, there are more than 50 wild Asian elephants active all year round in Jiangcheng County. After winter, as outdoor food sources gradually decreased, the relevant local departments also opened a special "elephant canteen", and elephants came to look for food one after another.

Webmaster of the Wildlife Protection Station of Jiangcheng County Forestry and Grassland Bureau Yang Song: "During this period, elephant herds have been moving closer to this food source base. There are almost 31 elephants in this area, and there are more than ten elephants below. Judging from their activity signs, they are gradually moving up and closer to this elephant herd."

In view of the frequent activities of elephants around the village, the local wildlife conservation department has also specially stepped up ground and aerial monitoring to issue early warnings to villagers in a timely manner to avoid head-on encounters between humans and elephants.

At the same time, the government has also installed infrared cameras, resistive barriers, and built elephant defense towers and other facilities in areas where wild elephants frequently move to ensure the harmonious coexistence of humans and elephants.

Asian elephants are the "umbrella species" of the forest ecosystem

Yunnan is an important habitat for Asian elephants. The development and growth of the "short-nosed family" is a microcosm of the Asian elephants living in Yunnan.

Against the background of the declining number of elephants around the world, the population of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan has increased from about 150 to more than 300 in the past few decades.

Scientists and ecological conservation workers discovered during monitoring that baby elephants and baby elephants can basically be seen in the elephant herd, and baby elephants are constantly being born every year.

Asian elephants eat at the "Elephant Food Source" in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City. Photo courtesy of Jiangcheng County Media Center

Build an elephant monitoring and early warning platform, create a wildlife public liability insurance, establish an "elephant food source", and promote the establishment of the Asian Elephant National Park... The local government and people have made arduous efforts and tried every means to protect Asian elephants.

Some people may ask: "Why do we put so much effort into protecting Asian elephants?"

Ecologists explained that elephants cannot live without forests, and forests cannot live without elephants. The Asian elephant, known as the "rainforest engineer", is the "umbrella species" of the forest ecosystem. Protecting Asian elephants means protecting biodiversity and protecting ecological balance.

Elephants are large in size and eat a lot. The feces they excrete become delicacies for many small and medium-sized wild animals, dung beetles and other insects, and also provide a way for plant seeds to spread. The elephant trails carved by elephants in the dense forest promote the spread of animals and open paths and bridges for the ecosystem material cycle . The number of Asian elephants in my country continues to grow, which is a vivid reflection of the continued improvement of the ecological environment.

A wild Asian elephant accidentally fell into a pond, and people filled in the soil to rescue it.Video screenshot

National park construction with Asian elephants as the main protection object is speeding up

At present, Asian elephants have been included in the 48 critically endangered species that have been rescued and protected during my country's "14th Five-Year Plan" period. As the population of Asian elephant continues to increase, there is still a long way to go to protect Asian elephants and their habitats, and to continuously explore in protection, so as to achieve harmonious coexistence of humans and elephants.

"By strengthening the protection and restoration of Asian elephant habitats, continuously improving habitat quality, and at the same time strengthening the construction of monitoring and early warning, safety prevention and emergency response systems, Yunnan is making every effort to solve the problem of human-elephant conflicts." said Yang Hua, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Protection Department of the Yunnan Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau.

In order to better protect Asian elephants and promote harmony between human elephants, and solve the problems of protection and development, the construction of national parks with Asian elephants as the main objects of protection is accelerating. The "Asian Elephant National Park Creation Work Plan" compiled by the Yunnan Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau clearly states that protecting tropical rainforests and strengthening Asian elephant protection are the main goals of setting up national parks.

"In China, protecting Asian elephants requires the realization of 'human-elephant coexistence'. This is a huge challenge, but China is moving in the right direction." Spanish-born Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Kang Musa said that in terms of protecting wild elephants, China is at the forefront of the world.

Biodiversity makes the earth full of vitality and is also the basis for human survival and development.

After the successful hosting of the first phase of COP15 in Kunming, the second phase of was held in Montreal, Canada, the secretariat of the " Convention on Biological Diversity " from December 7 to 19 this year. China continues to be the presidency and leads the substantive and political affairs of the conference. The theme and monographs of "Ecological Civilization: Building a Community of Life on Earth" remain unchanged.

The world continues to pay attention to the Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions, and Chinese strength in building ecological civilization. We look forward to the formulation and adoption of the "Framework of Global Biodiversity Post-2020". China will strive to build a modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and work with countries around the world to build a harmonious and vibrant community of life on earth. A moving chapter of harmonious coexistence between man and nature will continue to be written on the land of China.

Part Source: People's Daily Yunnan Channel, Yunnan Release

Edited by: Huang Jiaju

Editor: Li Jing

Final Review: Tang Yuanyuan

Final Review: Tang Yuanyuan