[To build a community of life on earth together]
We need to know more about Asian elephants
——Interview with Yang Yuming, member of National Endangered Species Science Committee and researcher of Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland Sciences
Guangming Daily reporter Zhang Lei and Ren Weidong
In mid-April, a group of Asian elephants were found to have left the nature reserve in Xishuangbanna, migrating all the way north, passing through Pu’er, Yuxi, Kunming and other places. The migration and spread of Asian elephants is a normal phenomenon, but such a long northward migration is the first time in China, so it has attracted great attention from the public at home and abroad.
The reasons for this group of Asian elephants to move north are still unknown. We need to know more about Asian elephants, understand the habitat distribution, living habits, causes and solutions of human-elephant conflicts, which will help local and relevant departments to better respond to this incident, so as to better in the future. Protect this rare species and promote the harmonious development of human elephants. To this end, our reporter interviewed Yang Yuming, a member of the National Endangered Species Science Committee and a researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland Sciences.
Reporter: How is the distribution of Asian elephants in my country? What is the main cause of endangerment?
Yang Yuming:Historically, Asian elephants once inhabited and reproduced in vast areas of North China, East China, Central China, South China, and Southwest China. In the 12th to 13th centuries, Asian elephants were extinct in southern Fujian, and extinct in Lingnan and Guangxi in the 17th century, and then only distributed in Yunnan. The Asian elephants in Yunnan are currently distributed in 3 states (cities) of Xishuangbanna, Pu’er and Lincang, belonging to different biogeographic provenances in two geographical units. Among them, the Xishuangbanna and Pu’er Asian elephants are representative of the Indochina-Laos population, and the genetic variation among different elephant groups is very low; while the Lincang (Nangun River Basin) Asian elephant is an extension of the Indian-Myanmar northern elephant group to China.
The reason why Asian elephants are endangered can be summed up for two reasons: natural and man-made. Natural reasons include changes in the habitat caused by climate change, and man-made factors include the loss of habitat caused by the occupation of habitat by population growth.
Reporter: Why does the elephant group go outside the protected area? What are the main causes of human-elephant conflict, and what is the harm?
Yang Yuming:In fact, about two-thirds of the Asian elephant activity area is outside the reserve. The reasons are: First, the vegetation in the reserve is gradually dense, and the food under the forest is reduced, which is not conducive to the foraging and activities of the Asian elephant. In the reserve, the foraging behavior of Asian elephants mostly occurs in hot shrubs and savanna shrubs. Other vegetation is rarely used. In dense forests with a canopy density greater than 0.75, foraging behaviors rarely occur. The few elephants go outside the reserve to feed on crops. The second is that the area of the reserve is insufficient and has become an isolated island, which cannot satisfy the migration and foraging of elephants, which also causes a large number of elephant herds to move outside the reserve.
The fragmentation of habitats further reduces the utilization of limited habitats by wild Asian elephants. Because many low-elevation areas preferred by Asian elephants are occupied by human production activities, their habitats largely overlap with local communities. In recent years, Asian elephants have shifted from their activities in forests to inhabiting and foraging near forest edges and farmlands, which has become the main cause of human-elephant conflicts.
With the increase in the population of Asian elephants, the scope of activities continues to expand, and the time of activity around the village has increased year by year. After eating crops, they gradually become dependent on crops, leading to frequent conflicts between human elephants. The main manifestations are: feeding, ruining crops and Economic crops damage farmland and farmland facilities, invade residents’ homes and steal food and damage homes, farm machinery, materials, and even endanger human lives. Yunnan Province began to compensate for wildlife accidents in 1992. In 2010, it was piloted to explore public liability commercial insurance for wildlife, and it was comprehensively promoted in 2014. It calmed the injured to a certain extent and eased conflicts between humans and elephants. However, it was affected by local financial resources. Due to limitations, it is often difficult to pay in full and in time.
Reporter: At present, what are the main risks and challenges faced by Asian elephants in population reproduction?
Yang Yuming:On the one hand, habitat suitability has declined. In the nature reserve, deforestation and felling are strictly prohibited under the strict protection of relevant laws and regulations; outside the nature reserve, due to the change in the production and lifestyle of the community and the promotion of alternative energy sources, the interference of fuelwood logging and grazing has also been greatly reduced. . Therefore, most of the forests in the habitat of Asian elephants are in the process of positive natural succession, and the gaps in the forests and forest gaps gradually disappear. The main food of Asian elephants-wild plantains and grasses of the family bamboos, trailing bamboos, zongye reeds Replaced by inedible woody plants. In addition, the degradation of bamboo forests, the decline in renewal capacity, as well as the encroachment of alien species such as airplane grass and other plants such as kudzu vines, edible plants in the habitat have been declining, making it difficult to meet the food needs of Asian elephants.
On the other hand, the growth of the Asian elephant population requires sufficient habitat space, and the fragmentation of the habitat results in the distribution of the Asian elephant population in islands, which reduces or even blocks the gene exchange between the populations, resulting in a decline in the genetic diversity of the Asian elephant and the population. Degenerate. The monitoring results showed that even in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, the Asian elephant populations between the unconnected Mengyang area and the Shangyong area have not been exchanged for more than 20 years. For some small local populations, population degradation is more serious and even faces the survival risk of regional extinction.
Reporter: How to promote the harmonious development of human elephants based on scientific protection of Asian elephants?
Yang Yuming:The battle between human elephants and elephants is the source of human elephant conflict. For this reason, it is necessary to control the planting industry that conflicts with ecological protection, return economic forests to natural forests, solve the problems of shrinking, fragmentation, and fragmentation of elephant colony habitats; promote ecological service industries Development, in the main distribution areas of Asian elephants, shift from planting as the main focus to ecological services, to solve the problem of alternative livelihoods for local people; at the same time, strengthen infrastructure construction and vigorously develop high-end specialization such as science examination and research, science popularization and education. Eco-tourism, exploring ways to protect Asian elephants and rejuvenate the countryside.
First, the degraded habitat can be restored by renewing the understory vegetation, planting native herbaceous plants that Asian elephants like to eat, improving water sources, and setting up “nitrate ponds”. At the same time, on the basis of research on biological characteristics, feeding habits, ecological habits and migration behavior, a composite ecosystem with better adaptability and higher carrying capacity for Asian elephants will be constructed.
Secondly, complete and perfect the Asian elephant activity detection and early warning and prevention and control system, strengthen and renovate the houses around the Asian elephant habitat, and start the construction of supporting projects for the elephant-proof ditch and solar power fence to ensure the life and property safety of residents in the wild Asian elephant activity area. At the same time, the land use pattern is optimized, and elephant-loving crops are not planted near residential areas.
Third, we will improve the ecological compensation mechanism for the protection of wild Asian elephants, and establish the principle of damage settlement based on actual losses, so as to ensure that all compensation should be paid and settle compensation in a timely manner to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of local people.
Finally, on the basis of the existing wild Asian elephant habitats, integrate the Asian elephant distribution areas at various levels of nature reserves and other protected areas, and establish biological corridors between different habitats to integrate the Xishuangbanna and Pu’er Asian elephant distribution areas. , To establish the Asian Elephant National Park, and to innovate the management and operation mechanism of Asian elephant protection. In addition, it is necessary to explore the transition from traditional farming primary production to ecological service tertiary production in the villages or rubber farmers in the Asian elephant distribution area, and gradually realize the integration and win-win development of the Asian elephant ecological protection business and the community ecological service industry economy.
Reporter: What positive effects has the traditional elephant culture of Yunnan ethnic minorities played in the protection of Asian elephants?
Yang Yuming:Whether in Xishuangbanna or the Nangun River Basin in Cangyuan, the local ethnic minorities have historically forged an indissoluble bond with Asian elephants, nurturing a rich elephant culture, and still retain the customs of worshipping, loving and protecting elephants. For example, in the Dai people of Xishuangbanna, the elephant culture has rich carriers such as myths, legends, place names, poems, proverbs, dances, paintings, and sculptures, and has become an important symbol of its traditional culture. The Wa people in the Nangun River Basin cannot directly call the elephant “Sang” (the name of the object in the Wa language), but call the elephant “Da” or “Dading”-“Da” is what the Wa people say to the elderly. Honorary title, meaning elders, ancestors, and kings.
In the early days of the Dai people in Jinghong, in order to prevent Asian elephants from invading, people planted bamboo, plantains and other crops that elephants love to eat far away from the village. After that, Asian elephants went there to eat and rarely entered the village. Due to Asian elephant activities around the village, tigers and other beasts dare not come again. People think that this is elephants protecting themselves, so they plant more crops for elephants to eat.
“Guangming Daily” (June 11, 2021, version 10)
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责编：李伯玺 ]
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