Roaming elephants wreak havoc in Yunnan

A herd of wild Asian elephants makes its way in Yuxi's Eshan Yi autonomous county, Yunnan province, on May 28, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

Fatal attack

For most people who have never been in close contact with a wild elephant, it is hard to imagine the danger and damage the giant animals can cause. An adult Asian elephant typically weighs between 3 and 5 metric tons and is capable of killing a person in a few seconds.

Such an incident happened in 2016, when two people in Nanlanghe village, Meng'a county, lost their lives after being attacked by elephants.

Villager Zhang Xiuying told Beijing Youth Daily in a recent interview: "It's not funny at all to have wild elephants roaming freely in the village, especially when I recall images of a young man whose head was crushed by the feet of these giants. It was horrible."

After the incident, Zhang said many locals could not sleep at night. Most villagers used to live in one-story houses, but moved for a time to two-story homes in the village for greater safety.

Wild Asian elephants can roam up to 40 kms a day, and an adult eats 150 to 200 kilograms of food each day.

Guo Xianming, deputy director of the research institute at Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, said a lack of food is the animals' main problem.

Supplies of the elephants' favorite food－plume grass－have fallen due to the growth of some invasive plants.

Since 2008, Xishuangbanna has provided a "canteen" for wild animals－mainly Asian elephants. It provides them with bamboo, corn, plantain and sugarcane.

In 2017, this pilot project was expanded to double its original size, in an effort to reduce friction between villagers and the elephants eating their crops due to food shortages.

A year later, an elephant "canteen "was built in Pu'er, a city north of Xishuangbanna, which is also a habitat for wild Asian elephants. With a total planting area of 200 hectares, the project received investment of 3.7 million yuan.

Moreover, the authorities in Yunnan have taken out insurance cover for residents in the province since 2014. The government pays the premiums and insurance companies compensate residents if they are attacked by wild animals.

In 2016, the forestry department also launched a pilot project, setting up an elephant alert system by using drones. Artificial intelligence and broadcast systems were introduced the following year to improve efficiency of the alert system.