CGTN: Migrating herd of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan takes a break
PR89989
BEIJING, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
A wild Asian elephant herd left the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in
southwest China's Yunnan Province and started marching north in mid-March.
After passing through several counties and occasionally wandering into villages
and towns, they have stopped and taken a rest in a suburban area of Kunming
City.
The number of elephants in the herd has changed as the their journey
progressed. The latest tally is 14, after one male left the group.
What has made these endangered animals leave their habitat and march north
remains uncertain. According to some experts, the reason is probably that the
environmental protection process in the area has provided a good habitat for
the Asian elephants, which enables them to breed more. The march might be a
dispersion of the population, with conditions allowing the group of elephants
to leave and look for new habitats.
Local authorities in the places that the elephants visited have all carried out
comprehensive response plans to ensure the safety of both humans and the
elephants. In both Yuxi City and Kunming City, contingency plans have been
launched with equipment including unmanned aircraft that were used to
continuously monitor the elephants' activities and emergency mucking trucks
that were sent to block surrounding roads into the village. People were quickly
organized to evacuate where necessary and food was also used to guide elephants
away from urban areas.
Asian elephants are under first-class state protection in China and are listed
as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of
Threatened Species. The population of wild Asian elephants has been increasing
in China, from 180 in 1980s to about 300 now.
The migration of the wild elephants in China has already stepped into
international spotlight. Media outlets including TV Asahi, the BBC and the New
York Times reported the animals' ongoing journey, analyzing the possible
reasons behind the migration.
SOURCE: CGTN
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