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People in Xishuangbanna – the southernmost prefecture of southwest China's Yunnan Province – have stepped up their vigilance after wild elephants inhabiting surrounding forests have haunted the streets in recent days.
On the early morning of January 27, an elephant made an “outbound travel” to neighboring Laos after forcibly passing the Chahe border checkpoint in the Mengla County.
Chen Xiaodong, a soldier on duty, said he heard a loud noise from afar at around 4:00 a.m. that day before seeing a “bulky thing” moving forward to the checkpoint.
“Some of us went to warn nearby residents of the elephant immediately. Some kept close watch of its whereabouts for fear of any danger it may encounter,” said Chen. The elephant returned about two hours later and didn’t do any harm to people.
Guard railing has been installed in the Guanping Village of Xishuangbanna as a trial program to prevent elephants hurting local people and damaging their properties.
“There’s not enough food in the primeval forests during the winter, and so wild elephants would go out foraging in nearby villages,” explained Li Zhifu, a soldier working at the checkpoint.
Just one day later, another elephant “intruded” the streets of the Meng’a Township in the Menghai County. Locals were shocked and stayed far away from the fractious creature while it was roaming around. Yang Xiaoduan, a staff of the township government, told CGTN that the animal didn’t cause any harm this time and went back to the forests hours later.
Xishuangbanna is home to Dai people. Renowned as a huge “natural zoo,” its tropical rainforests provide a habitat for many species of animals, such as the Asian elephants which are under the country’s top protection, hornbills, peacocks and black-crested gibbons.
Over the past years, Asian elephants have frequently visited nearby villages in the prefecture and caused massive damages. On January 22, an elephant blocked the road in the Basan Village of Menghai County and smashed the passing cars. Official data shows that from 1991 to 2016, “invasions” by wild Asian elephants have caused more than 50 deaths and about 300 injuries, and the losses amounted to about 327 million yuan (51.6 million US dollars).
An elephant roamed on the streets of the Meng’a County in Xishuangbanna on January 28.
In response to the reccurrence of such tragedies, local authorities have been taking countermeasures to protect local villagers and their properties. In July 2017, the Xishuangbanna Natural Reserve Administration launched a trial program by installing guard railings in local villages. So far, 1,350 meters of guard railings have been constructed in the Guanping Village with an investment of 1.72 million yuan (217,600 US dollars).
Yang Xiaoduan from the Meng’a Township government told CGTN that they have also adopted drones to closely track wild elephants’ activities and inform the villagers of any hazards. She said such efforts have worked and they would continue to explore other ways to better protect locals.
In recent years, the city has also stepped up cooperation with the neighboring city of Laos to alleviate the conflicts between human beings and wild elephants.
(CGTN)
