Wild elephants are spotted under an expressway bridge in Jinghong city, Southwest China's Yunnan province, Feb 25, 2015. Seven wild elephants that intruded an expressway were escorted back to forest by police. It is common for the State-protected animals to damage crops or attack humans near the rainforests of Xishuangbanna in Jinghong. (Photo: China News Service/Chang Zongbo)
The war between humans and elephants rages in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
This year alone, three people have been killed by wild elephants there, and three elephants are known to have been killed by either pesticides or gunshot.
A villager from Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, a popular tourist destination where elephants feature prominently on any itinerary, was detained by police on Sunday for killing a pregnant wild elephant. Named by police as Wang, the villager opened fire with a homemade gun on a group of wild elephants that had invaded his land. A female elephant weighing more than 3 tonnes was later found dead in Wang's fish pond with a bullet in her head. The cow was carrying a 99-kilogram male calf and was almost ready to give birth.
On June 26, two immature bull elephants were found dead with blood oozing from their mouth, trunk and anus. Police found pesticides in the stomaches of both and have not ruled out the possibility that they were poisoned by farmers. As many as 16 wild elephants were seen in the area at the end of November and various incidents have since been reported.
Asian elephants are an endangered species and protected in China. About 250 to 300 roam Xishuangbanna and other parts of south Yunnan. Fragmented habitat means they often intrude into villages, damage crops and even attack humans.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER
A villager died after being attacked while working in his fields in June. His wife narrowly escaped death thanks to a shed that collapsed, shielding her from further attacks. There have been at least three elephant attacks in the vicinity this year. Two women died from such attacks in the area in 2012 and 2013.
Heavily forested Simao District is an ideal habitat for elephants. About 60 of them are known to roam the district. Six people have died there and nine have been injured in elephant attacks since 1999. Farmers are afraid to harvest their crops. Students have nerve-racking trips to school and local people go less frequently to the market. Some cannot even sleep in their own houses for fear that hungry pachyderms will break in and raid their larders.
