Thermal imaging of Asian elephants is back! The number of these giant "treasures" has increased significantly!

Recently, wild Asian elephants appeared again in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan.

After receiving the alarm from the public, the police from Shangyong Border Police Station rushed to the scene as soon as possible, contacted the forestry department, and used drones to conduct real-time monitoring of the elephant group. From the thermal imaging, it can be seen that this elephant group has a total of 41 wild Asian elephants, which are foraging and playing in the mountains and forests.

Based on the characteristics of the elephants' presence, village distribution, road traffic and other conditions, the police and local forestry department immediately implemented traffic control in the areas where the Asian elephants passed, evacuated nearby personnel, tried to avoid contact between humans and elephants, reduced interference with the elephants, and ensured the safety of the surrounding people.

The Asian elephant monitors promptly issued an early warning message, reminding the villagers not to get close. After eating and playing enough, the group of Asian elephants returned safely to the nature reserve that night, and people's lives returned to peace.

In 2021, a group of Asian elephants' journey from north to south attracted much attention, vividly presenting a new picture of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

The Asian elephant is the largest terrestrial animal in Asia and a flagship species of tropical forest ecosystems. It is listed as a national first-class key protected wild animal in my country and is assessed as an "endangered" species by the World Conservation Union. my country's wild elephants are mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna, Pu'er and Lincang in Yunnan.

In June 2021, a herd of Asian elephants "heading north" were active in Jinning District, Kunming City.

In August 2021, the Asian elephant herd migrating northward from Yunnan crossed the Yuanjiang River and returned to suitable habitats.

In 1976, there were less than 150 wild elephants left in Yunnan.

In 2018, simultaneous monitoring found that there were about 293 wild elephants in Yunnan.

By the end of 2021, the number of wild elephants in Yunnan had grown to about 360.

In July 2023, a wild Asian elephant foraged for food in a rice field in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City.

my country has established 11 nature reserves covering an area of ​​5,098 square kilometers in the Asian elephant distribution area, and has continuously strengthened habitat protection and improved habitat quality. Yunnan has also established the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center, which has rescued 30 trapped and injured wild elephants in the past 20 years.

In July 2021, staff rescued the injured baby elephant "Longlong" in Xishuangbanna. This Asian elephant, about two months old, had an injured, ulcerated and infected left front leg and was abandoned because it could not keep up with the elephant herd.

Yunnan also built a "canteen" for wild elephants, restored and renovated more than 9,000 mu of food sources for Asian elephants, and planted elephant grass, sweet bamboo, zongzi reed and other plants that elephants love to eat. At the same time, it strengthened the construction of monitoring and early warning, safety prevention and emergency response systems to avoid conflicts between humans and elephants to the greatest extent.

Asian Elephant Trivia

Elephants are called "forest farmers" and "ecological engineers". The activities of Asian elephants have a profound impact on the plant communities in the forest, and in turn affect almost all forest species.

The story of humans and elephants will continue to unfold. May every encounter be peaceful. The blue planet belongs to us, and to them too!

Source: Science Popularization China Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency