China's wild Asian elephant population nears 400: report

KUNMING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- China's wild Asian elephant population has grown from about 150 in the 1980s to nearly 400 today, according to a report released on Thursday that credits decades of habitat protection and conservation efforts in the country's southwestern province of Yunnan.

The report, titled "Living in Harmony with Nature: The Ecological Civilization Behind China's Wild Elephant Sanctuary," was released by the Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency.

Asian elephants, an emblematic species in the rainforest, are designated as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are under first-class national protection in China.

Despite their slow reproductive rate, the population has continued to grow, with monitoring data showing that nearly every elephant herd in the major habitats of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and Pu'er City in Yunnan has welcomed new calves every year in recent years, according to the report.

"We're seeing a baby boom among elephant herds," Wan Yong, director of the Yunnan Provincial Forestry and Grassland Administration, was quoted as saying in the report.

Wan said Yunnan's wild Asian elephant population is entering a period of rapid growth despite the global decline of the species.

In 2021, a herd of wandering wild Asian elephants in Yunnan captured worldwide attention after roaming more than 1,400 kilometers over 124 days before returning to its traditional habitat. The widely followed journey offered a rare glimpse into China's wildlife conservation efforts and the evolving relationship between people and nature.

Yunnan is one of the most biodiverse places in China and beyond. It is home to 542 nationally protected wild plant species and 386 nationally protected terrestrial wild animal species, accounting for 48 percent and 56 percent of the national totals, respectively.

The story of Asian elephant conservation in China is not only about saving an endangered species, but also about demonstrating how humans and nature can thrive together, Chen Fei, director of the Asian elephant research center under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, was quoted as saying in the report.