Elephants are by nature fiercely intelligent and experts who study them every day already know a lot about them. However, a herd in China has completely stunned scientists around the world.
It is not unusual for elephants to move small distances. But this herd has been roaming China for over a year.
The elephants have almost drifted away 500 km (some 311 miles), a gigantic hike, from its original habitat.
They are believed to have started their journey last spring from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in the south-west of the country, near the border with Myanmar and Laos.
They began to move north and in recent months, they have appeared in various villages, towns and cities.
They have been seen breaking down doors, robbing stores, “stealing” food, playing in the mud , bathing in a canal and taking a nap in the middle of a forest.
They have also been seen devastating crops that they find in their path and prowling around people’s houses; on one occasion, they were even seen lining up in a courtyard to drink water, successfully turning on a tap with their trunks.
They are believed to have started moving south again and were spotted by last time in Shijie, a town near Yuxi city in Yunnan province.
It is not clear if they are going back, or why they embarked on this trip that is already the longest known journey of elephants in that country. Nor is it known what will come next.
Bewildered scientists
“The truth is that nobody You know, ”Joshua Plotnik, assistant professor of elephant psychology at Hunter College, City University of New York, told the BBC when asked about the causes of this displacement.
“ It is almost certain that is related to the need for resources (food, water, shelter) and this would make sense given that in most places where Asian elephants live in the wild there is an increase in human disturbances leading to habitat fragmentation and resource loss and reduction, ”he adds.
Plotnik added that the movement could have something to do with the group’s social dynamics.
Elephants are matriarchal and the oldest and wisest female leads the group of grandmothers, mothers and aunts along with their sons and daughters.
After puberty, the males separate and travel alone or join in groups with other males for a short period of time. They only temporarily reunite with the females to mate before leaving again.
However, this herd was formed as a group of 16 or 17 elephants, including three males.
Two males detached from the group a month later and the other moved away earlier this month.
“This is not unusual, but I am surprised that he has stayed so long. It was probably because they were in unfamiliar territory. When I saw them enter a town or village, they were moving very close together, that’s a sign of stress, ”said Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, professor and principal investigator at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.
Elephants behave more like humans than other mammals and experience a variety of emotions such as the joy of being born, the pain of death, and anxiety in unfamiliar territory .
The researchers were also surprised when two of the female elephants gave birth on the trip.
“ The elephants have habits and are very routine , it is unusual for them to move to new areas when they are about to give birth; they try to find the safest place they can, ”Lisa Olivier of Game Rangers International, a Zambia-based wildlife conservation organization, told the BBC.
Olivier says that the famous images of elephants sleeping together are also unusual.
“Normally babies sleep on the ground and the biggest ones lean on a tree or in a mound of termite mounds. Because they are so big, that if there is some kind of threat, it takes them too long to get up and go to bed, it puts a lot of pressure on their heart and lungs, “he said.
” The fact that they were lying down suggests that they were exhausted, totally annihilated, everything must be so new to them. Much of their communication is an infrasonic sound, the vibration of their feet, but in towns and cities they are listening to the sounds of vehicles ”, he added.
Smaller habitats
Scientists unanimously agree that this is not a migration because the animals do not follow a fixed route.
However, China is one of the few places in the world where the elephant population is growing thanks to extensive conservation efforts.
Authorities have cracked down on poaching and as a result the wild elephant population in Yunnan Province has risen from 193 in the decade of 1990 to some 300 currently.
But increasing urbanization and deforestation have reduced elephant habitats. Therefore, experts believe that they could be looking for a new home with better access to food.
These jungle giants are impressive eating machines, slaves to their entrails, so spend much of their lives looking for the 193 to 200 kg of food they need every day.
Air Tracking
The experts are happy that the unusual journey of the elephants did not lead to dangerous confrontations with humans. There are other positives.
The drones that authorities have deployed to monitor elephants have provided researchers with a wealth of quality information without disturbing the animals. And they have offered an excited audience unforgettable photographs.
Olivier also highlights the cooperation between the government, local authorities and conservation projects to protect the herd.
In recent months, officials have been placing food baits and blocking roads with trucks to redirect elephants to safety.
“I am pleased that the focus is not very intrusive. A very common mistake is trying to tell elephants what to do. Elephants do not evolve to be told what to do . When we try to tell them what to do while traveling long distances we can create a lot of aggressive behaviors, “Campos-Arceiz said.
The Chinese media have been monitoring the group of elephants on a daily basis. And the herd has become a success on social media.
All the attention generated by this mobilization has increased awareness and sensitivity about the plight of endangered elephants in the country and global interest is likely to have far-reaching effects.
“This attention and exposure will help conservation around the world,” according to Olivier.
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