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Unaccepted by herd, injured elephant calf recovers well under human care in Yunnan
Unaccepted by herd, injured elephant calf recovers well under human care
Published: Dec 10, 2024 11:31 PM
Staff members give a wild elephant calf a physical examination at the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on December 8, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Staff members give a wild elephant calf a physical examination at the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on December 8, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

A male wild elephant calf that was rescued and treated for injuries is showing significant improvement toward recovery after more than three months of treatment, nutritional support, and physical rehabilitation, according to the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday. 

"Asian elephants are currently only found in three regions in Southern Yunnan: Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, and Lincang. While their population is showing signs of recovery and growth, their habitats are highly fragmented and overlap significantly with human living and production spaces," Shi Kun, director of the Wildlife Research Institute of Beijing Forestry University, told Global Times on Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of this rescue. The elephant is now able to walk normally and is recovering well.

According to the breeding center, on the evening of August 22, the injured calf was discovered in Daduogang township, Jinghong. Follow-up drone surveillance revealed visible scars on the elephant's right hind leg, and it was limping as it walked.

Wang Bin, director of the Asian Elephant Protection and Management Center in Xishuangbanna, explained that on the morning of August 23, staff members arrived on site. To prevent further injury and help the elephant regain its strength, they carefully controlled the elephant and fed it glucose and milk powder, while also treating the wound on its right hind leg. The injured elephant was then transferred to a nearby village for rest, according to Xinhua.

"We attempted to reintegrate the injured elephant into its herd using a small transport vehicle, but the herd did not take the injured calf back the following day," Wang said. On August 24, to prevent further deterioration of the elephant's injury due to being left alone in the wild, it was brought to the rescue center for care.

When it first arrived at the center, the calf was only 90 centimeters tall and weighed about 100 kilograms. Now, the elephant's condition is steadily improving, with its height increasing to 130 centimeters and its weight surpassing 300 kilograms.

"In addition to daily health monitoring and feeding, we take the calf out to the wild for training every day to help maintain its survival skills," said one of the caretakers at the rescue center, Mo Shiyu. The elephant has not yet been named, and the rescue center plans to hold an online poll to allow netizens to suggest a name, Xinhua reported.

The Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center is currently the only research base in China focused on the rescue, rehabilitation, and breeding of Asian elephants. 

Since its establishment in 2009, the center has successfully rescued and rehabilitated 25 wild Asian elephants, which are a species under first-class national protection in China.

For years, caretakers from China have been rescuing elephants while preserving and promoting the wild animal protection system.

According People's Daily, over the past 30 years, the population of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan has grown from around 150 to approximately 300, marking a period of steady recovery and gradual increase in their numbers. At a rescue center, the daily care of 11 Asian elephants is handled by 27 staff members.

In 2021, a herd of 15 wild Asian elephants made a northward journey from their traditional habitats, passing through Pu'er, Honghe, Yuxi, and Kunming. With the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade's 24-hour monitoring team ensuring their safety, the herd eventually returned to their traditional habitat unharmed.

Efforts to protect Asian elephants continue. "Asian elephants require large spaces for habitation, reproduction, and migration. Existing nature reserves are insufficient to meet the needs of their population growth, and the conflict between conservation and development is increasingly apparent. The current protection mechanisms have limitations. Establishing a national park for Asian elephants is essential to fundamentally improving these mechanisms," Shi said.