HIGH-TECH MONITORING KEEPS TRACK OF ELEPHANTS
App allows users to identify and locate animals
At 7:26 pm on Saturday, Li Zhongyun received a message via an app on his phone just after he finished work and arrived home in Yunnan province.
The message stated, “A herd of wild elephants is lingering near the Chengzi-I community in Mengwang village, Menghai county. Please inform villagers who are working outside to be careful.”
As the herd was 270 kilometers away, Li, who lives in Longmen village, Mengla, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, let out a sigh of relief.
On Saturday, Li, who is a forest ranger and Asian elephant observer, patrolled for 33 km through dense forests along the border between China and Laos.
Xishuangbanna, which borders Laos and Myanmar, has a population of more than 1.3 million and offers protection to 756 types of wild animals and more than 5,000 kinds of higher plants. Such plants have relatively complex or advanced characteristics.
The prefecture is also home to 300 wild Asian elephants — the largest such population in China.
In 1958, a national nature reserve was established in Xishuangbanna. The area under protection at State, prefecture and county levels has expanded from about 240,000 hectares in the 1980s to 415,000 hectares, accounting for more than onefifth of the prefecture’s total area.
In recent years, with increased forest coverage in the reserve and fewer herbs and lianas (climbing plants hanging from trees) for the elephants to eat, the creatures have been seen feeding on farmland more frequently.
To reduce encounters between humans and wild animals, the local authorities launched an app that allows users to identify, locate and track wild elephants.
Li said, “As an elephant observer, I upload information to the system as soon as I spot the animals in the wild.”
With one click on the app, users can view the location of nearby elephants and make preparations should the animals approach.
Tao Qing, deputy director of the administrative and protection bureau at Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, said work started on the prefecture’s wild elephant monitoring and early warning system in November, 2019.
A total of 471 infrared cameras and 142 intelligent broadcasting systems have been installed in protected areas in Jinghong city and Mengla county, along with two sets of video surveillance systems at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot, Tao said.
“The system has comprehensively enhanced the capacity and efficiency of the local response to human-elephant conflicts,” he added.
In addition, it helps provide an effective scientific basis for better protection and management measures, and supplies reliable, timely, accurate and complete information support for decision-makers at all levels, Tao said.
The authorities in Xishuangbanna have stepped up monitoring of the elephants via drones, video surveillance, infrared cameras and human tracking.
Warning signs have been placed in areas where elephants are active, and designated personnel are on duty to prevent people from entering such locations and to ensure public safety.
Tao said there are now more than 200,000 users of the unmanned aerial vehicle monitoring and early warning platform, and it has over 41,200 followers on WeChat.
Li Chao, from Manzhuang village, Mohan town, Mengla, said: “With this app, it is easy to track the movements of the elephants on a daily basis. In this way, human and elephant conflicts can basically be avoided.”
The 47-year-old, who has been an elephant observer since 2019, patrols mountainous areas at least 10 days every month.
He said local residents know they should keep their distance from the animals.
“They should not stare at or threaten the animals. The elephants are so smart that if they are scared by someone, they might ‘take revenge’ in the future,” said Li Chao, who has encountered wild elephants several times.
In 2019, when he and three other rangers were patrolling the mountains, they found there was a herd of elephants behind them.
“We were scared and ran for our lives, but the elephants were scared, too. They got away from us and went down the mountain,” he said.
To report the situation to the WeChat group, the rangers raced to a location where their phones had a signal. At the time, there was no early warning system.
At around 5 pm one day in August, Li Chao encountered an elephant herd eating villagers’ corn. They devoured the crop, which covered an area of about 700 square meters.
“Fortunately, the insurance company paid out. The level of compensation has been raised from 400 yuan ($62.44) per mu (0.06 hectares) to 600 yuan,” Li Chao said, adding that the lost corn was “no big deal”.
“The elephants require our protection. I think their habitat needs to be expanded. Why do they want to eat our corn? Maybe it is because there is less food for them,” he said.
Roaming animals
A herd of wild elephants roaming through Yunnan has been making headlines worldwide.
Xiang Ruwu, head of the flora and fauna department at the Yunnan forestry and grassland bureau, said on Sunday that during a 41-day stay in rural areas of Yuxi city, the animals damaged property in more than 400 households. They ate crops such as bananas, corn, rice, mangoes, dates, dragon fruit, tobacco, sugar cane and sweet potatoes.
He said the authorities in Yunnan are compensating people for losses caused by the herd.
In 2010, the world’s first public liability insurance for wildlife accidents was piloted in Xishuangbanna, covering property losses and personal injuries caused by wildlife under state and provincial protection.
Such insurance is available throughout Yunnan, and the public does not need to buy it separately, Xiang said.
Data from the bureau show that compensation totaling 173 million yuan was paid for losses caused by elephants from 2014 to last year.
Wang Qiaoyan, a senior engineer with the scientific research institute at Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, said there is no evidence that the elephants’ habitat has been destroyed.
“Fragmentation is a factor that causes wild elephants to frequently enter villages for food. Nature reserves are scattered in different counties and cities and not connected with each other,” she said.
Wang, who has researched Asian elephants for 23 years, said recent studies have shown that their numbers are rising in Xishuangbanna, thanks to the effective management of nature reserves, increased public awareness and a lack of poaching.
Since the 1980s and 1990s, wild Asian elephants have roamed beyond their original habitats, while previously the animals were confined to Xishuangbanna and Pu’er, instead of heading further north, she said.
Elephants are intelligent and have good memories. If they reach a location and are unable to pass through it, or there is no good feeding on the way, they may choose to return to their forest home in Xishuangbanna.
“This process may take a long time, and in the absence of human intervention, the herd may continue to search until it finds a suitable habitat,” Wang added.
Li Zhongyuan, head of the Xishuangbanna Wildlife Conservation
Station, said the prefecture has made great efforts to protect wild animals and plants. It has issued local laws and regulations for their protection, while strictly enforcing legislation issued at state and provincial level, he said.
Every year, wildlife protection workers distribute brochures to villages, communities, schools and workplaces, highlighting the importance of protecting elephants.
“Local residents have greatly raised their awareness of this issue over the years. A great deal of information about rescuing elephants has been supplied by these residents,” Li Zhongyuan said.
In August, 2015, Yangniu, one of the most popular elephants in the area, was found by villagers after being abandoned by her mother. Before being rescued by veterinarians, the animal was treated and fed by residents.
“The total number of Asian elephants has risen from about 170 in the 1980s to some 300 now. This is strong proof that people’s awareness has greatly increased, and that there have been few incidents of harm being caused to wild animals in recent years,” Li Zhongyuan said.
Yang Hua, deputy director of the flora and fauna department at the Yunnan forestry and grassland bureau, said wild elephants have ventured farther afield as conservation efforts have been stepped up.
In the 1990s, the elephants were located in three counties and 14 towns, but by the end of last year, they had been reported in 12 counties and 55 townships, he said.
The province employs 122 fulltime elephant observers. All areas have drawn up emergency plans to protect the animals and residents and also for reducing the possibility of the elephants encountering humans, Yang said.
In recent years, 11 nature reserves with a total area of 509,800 hectares have been set up in areas of Yunnan with significant elephant populations. Villages in 10 areas have been relocated from the reserves and more than 600 hectares of habitat has been restored, Yang said.
In 2003, the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center was established and the province also set up a technical rescue team for elephants in the wild.
Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve has signed cooperation agreements with three provinces in northern Laos, forming five joint protection areas covering a total of nearly 133 sq km to ensure the safety of cross-border elephant habitats.
Local authorities are speeding up construction of an Asian elephant national park system, which they want to launch as soon as possible.
They (people) should not stare at or threaten the animals. The elephants are so smart that if they are scared by someone, they might ‘take revenge’ in the future.”
Li Chao, elephant observer from Mengla county, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province