China News Service, Kunming, August 12 (Reporter Han Shuinan) "Look, the elephants have finished their'cakes' and went to bathe in the pond again!" The 12th is the tenth "World Elephant Day". Kunming Zoo is popularizing science Themed activities are carried out in the form of, oaths, live broadcasts, etc., so that citizens and tourists can feel the life of "Xiangwang" at close range.

　　Li Jiawei, a citizen of Kunming, took his two children together to make large "cakes" for Asian elephants with fruits. The naive Asian elephants made them call "cute".

"I brought my children together, hoping that they can get to know Asian elephants and cultivate the awareness of protecting nature from an early age." Li Jiawei said that since she watched the daily live broadcast of Asian elephants in Kunming Zoo, she has become a faithful of Asian elephants full of spirituality. fan.

　　In fact, the number of Asian elephant populations that have recently become more “fan-sucking” include the “broken nose family” that migrated all the way north from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan.

Starting from December 2020, more than ten wild Asian elephants have traveled northward from the reserve, passing Pu'er, Honghe, Yuxi, Kunming and other places, arousing the eager attention of global netizens.

The picture shows the Asian elephant in the forest.

Photo courtesy of Xishuangbanna Border Management Detachment

　　"I heard they have gone home." Li Jiawei is also chasing the "series" of "Where do the elephants go". She believes that this incident has attracted more people's attention to Asian elephants and is also a large-scale scientific popularization of Asian elephants. .

　　In addition to the "broken nose family", Asian elephants have recently been "existing" in Pu'er, Xishuangbanna and other places.

　　On July 23, a lone elephant swaggered past the Qingtou checkpoint at Yanjiao Substation of Mengkang Border Checkpoint in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er, and walked along a cone with its nose.

Zhang Jianchang, a policeman at the Mengkang border checkpoint, said that in the past year, this Asian elephant has used the checkpoint as a regular “check-in point”. The policemen at this station have become a normal state where people are withdrawn from the station and they leave for work.

The picture shows a wild elephant approaching the border checkpoint.

Photo courtesy of Mengkang Border Checkpoint

　　On August 11, an Asian elephant "wandered" around the streets of Mengman Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna, crossed the road and returned to the nature reserve.

Zhang Qifan, a policeman from the Mengman border police station, said, “Our area is close to the nature reserve. About 13 Asian elephants have come to the reserve this year. Close contact with people."

　　According to statistics, the population of wild Asian elephants active in Yunnan has increased from about 150 in 1978 to more than 300 at present.

In the mid-1990s, Asian elephants were only distributed in Xishuangbanna and Nangunhe National Nature Reserves.

By the end of 2020, the long-term activities of Asian elephants have expanded to 11 counties (cities, districts), 55 towns and villages in 3 prefectures and cities in Yunnan Province, and a large number of activities are outside the nature reserve.

　　Chen Fei, director of the Asian Elephant Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, said that these welcome changes are due to the implementation of the conversion of farmland to forests in Yunnan to restore more suitable habitats, the establishment of a breeding base for Asian elephants to carry out shelter and rescue, and the cultivation of food-loving plants. Like "canteens", establish a monitoring and early warning system, raise public awareness of protection and prevention, improve the mechanism for settlement of incidents, and actively carry out cross-border joint protection between China and Laos.

　　Chen Fei said that more than a dozen Asian elephants from the "broken nose family" were able to travel northward to be safe, thanks to the "escort" of local government departments all the way, and also due to some restored forests and farmland supplies along the way.

　　Wan Yong, director of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Yunnan Province, said that in the next step, Yunnan Province will accelerate the creation of the Asian Elephant National Park, focus on strengthening the construction of Asian elephant habitats, further strengthen the construction of monitoring and early warning, safety precautions and emergency response systems, and go all out to promote Harmony of human figures.

　　The "long trip" of the "broken nose family" not only attracted attention to the Asian elephant population, but also greatly increased Yunnan's international reputation.

　　The media in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other countries have reported this incident of the elephant's northward movement, setting off an upsurge of "chasing the elephant" overseas.

Foreign netizens are fascinated by the intelligence and cuteness of the elephant, and also praised the action of the Chinese government and the public to protect the elephant.

　　Japanese TV station TBS introduced in detail the cities that the "broken nose family" passed through in the program, showing a Yunnan that many Japanese people were not familiar with before.

A Japanese netizen said that when the epidemic is over, one must travel to Yunnan along the elephant's footsteps.

　　Yunnan is not only a place of "Xiangwang", it will also become a place of yearning for people.

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