World Elephant Day: Wild Elephants Show up Frequently in Southwest China

Описание: The World Elephant Day falls on Aug 12. But it is not just this day that brings the large friendly mammals close to human beings. In southwest China's Yunnan Province, wild Asian Elephants have made their appearances on a daily basis since the Spring Festival in February.

Around the "Wild Elephant Valley" in the province's Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna (Sipsongpanna), the wild elephants sometimes wonder about on the street, making cars stop for them to pass.

Elephant caretaker Yan Hanlu said such frequent appearance of wild elephants in large numbers is a rare scene even in his long experience of watching elephants for over 20 years.

"From the Spring Festival to May 15, the wild elephants showed up almost every day in our scenic region. The number was between 40 to 50, and can be more than 60 taking into account the ones in surrounding areas," said Yan.

Experts said the frequent appearance of wild elephants in the valley could result from a shortage in food and water supply.

"The ficus elastic we grow, for example, is not a common type of food for wild elephants. But when they come here, they eat the whole trees. They even look for food in the garbage bags. The shortage of water is more obvious, as rivers are cutting off in our prefecture and water supply became a huge problem for the elephants. The elephants used to drink at the 'elephant lake' in our valley, 29 of them at a time! They also frolic in the lake. On the other hand, the elephants probably feel welcome here. The people here won't harm them. So the valley becomes their first option when they are in trouble," said Shen Qingzhong, senior engineer with the National Nature Reserve of Xishuangbanna.

In recent years, the number of wild Asian Elephants, scientifically known as elephas maximus, in China has been growing with the country's greater efforts in wildlife protection. There are currently 250 to 270 wild Asian Elephants in Xishuangbanna. More on: http://www.cctvplus.com/news/20160812...

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