China News Service, Kunming, June 15th, June 14th, Dragon Boat Festival.
At dusk, the setting sun painted the sky in different shades of orange in the Yi Village, Shijie Township, Yimen County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, surrounded by mountains.
On the back ridge of Nanshan Village, 14 Asian elephants are faintly hidden in the shadows of the trees, and they file along the ridge.
Shijie Township is located in the southwest of Yimen County, with Xiyang Township in Jinning County in the east and Dianzhong Town in Eshan County in the south.
The Pa River flows through the territory from east to west, with mountains and slopes staggered, rivers and fertile land coexist, and it is located in a hot and dry valley zone. It has a mid-subtropical monsoon climate.
The picture shows the elephant group monitored.
Provided by Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade
The elephant group has been in Shijie Township for nearly a week.
"It has been like this for several days. After a day's rest, they are ready to go down the mountain to find food. You see, the elephants are observing the conditions below the mountain." A staff member of the Asian Elephant Group Safety Precautions Command of the Yunnan Northward Movement told reporters.
The elephant group going down the mountain means that everyone who takes care of the elephant group's safety has entered the most tense moment of the day.
Li Shengchun, the mayor of Shijie Township, who was having dinner at the headquarters, threw down the tableware and finished the dinner decisively.
After the elephant group entered Shijie Township, the whole township entered a state of emergency, and all public officials cooperated with the headquarters to start work.
That night, Li Shengchun didn't lie down until 5 o'clock in the morning at work.
The picture shows the elephant group monitored.
Provided by Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade
Chen Shengyao, the wild Asian elephant search and monitoring task force of the Yunnan Provincial Forest Fire Fighting Corps, and his teammates will be on duty at the monitoring point in Nanshan Village this evening.
Since the Asian elephant entered Eshan County on May 27, Chen Shengyao and his comrades have become "followers".
Jeep driving on the road leading to Nanshan Village, from time to time you can see the corn stalks dragged by elephants on the road from time to time. The soil stalks on the side of the road have elephants' footprints, and there is even a 1.5-meter walk they have stepped on. The wide "road" from left to right extends to the top of the mountain.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, the elephant herd on the mountain observed Chen Shengyao's jeep for a while and made a decision to go down the mountain.
"The elephants will not go down the mountain too fast, because their front legs are shorter than their hind legs, so it is not convenient to go down the mountain." Taking advantage of this time difference, the jeep passed the only way for the elephants to forage and came to a higher ground. Nanshan Village.
There are 146 households in Nanshan Village.
In the past few days, the Asian elephant herd monitoring point is located on the second floor of the farmer Zhang Zhonglin's house.
This monitoring point is maintained by the Yuxi Special Police during the day, and shifted to the forest fire brigade at night.
Among the members of the monitoring point are the staff of the local Yimen Forestry and Grass Bureau and the staff of the township and village.
"When it rains, the drone cannot work. The staff of the forestry and grass bureau of the ground monitoring team must get close to the elephant group to observe. The comrades in the township and village are familiar with the terrain, and the members can complement each other."
The front monitoring team has been at Zhang Zhonglin's house for 4 days.
The cornfield at home was also patronized by elephants, but he happily guarded the screens monitored by the team members every night and counted the elephants one by one. He boiled eggs and delivered dumplings to the monitoring team during the Dragon Boat Festival.
"I never thought that Asian elephants will come to our house." Zhang Zhonglin said.
In the twilight, the elephants wandered down the mountain.
The team members turned on the drone's infrared night vision device.
Fourteen large and small round black dots lined up on the screen for a while, then divided into groups, and marched toward the cornfield.
At this time, in the headquarters, these pictures can be seen in real time.
Suddenly, the drone found people in the valley opposite.
The monitoring team immediately shouted repeatedly through the drone: "The elephants go down the mountain, and the unrelated personnel please leave immediately."
The headquarters received the report and immediately sent personnel to verify that they were villagers who went out to work in agriculture.
"Keep an eye on the elephants and take care of people. This is the responsibility of our monitoring points," the monitoring team said.
The sky is getting darker, and the distance between the elephant group and the monitoring point is only 200 meters.
Because food was fed at the elephant group's approach point during the day, the drone's infrared night vision device showed that the elephant group has been lingering here.
The monitoring team will count the heads of the elephant herd every few minutes.
"Even if an elephant enters the village, it will bring hidden dangers."
It is not easy to count the elephants on the thermal imaging display screen. In many cases, it is not easy to count the elephants.
For the monitoring team members, there is already obsessive-compulsive disorder-to see all the elephants "in order" on the monitoring equipment.
This night, the elephant group generally moved less and did not have the usual "active". The monitoring staff felt that it was different from the night before, so they repeatedly studied the screen and discussed it for a long time.
The picture shows the elephant group monitored.
Provided by Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade
The drone that returns to replace the battery every 40 minutes or so is a reminder of the passage of time.
"We have been engaged in forest protection fire monitoring before. The elephant herd that moved north has given us a new understanding and special feelings for the animals in the forest." After her colleague changed shifts, Chen Shengyao liked to watch the elephant herd taken by drones over and over again. Details, especially the parts with baby elephants.
At 2:30 in the night, the elephants ended their hunting down the mountain earlier than usual. At the intersection of the mountain, they did not stop and continued to move forward.
"The elephant may have moved," the monitoring team members whispered.
In the silent dark night, when Asian elephant activities are most frequent, in the dark night of Nanshan Village, countless people take care of its tranquility.
(Finish)