Living alongside Asian elephants

Future challenges

While the reserve has achieved significant milestones in conservation, the future is not without its challenges.

Agricultural expansion and a growing population have fragmented natural corridors, preventing the elephants from dispersing, said Chen Fei, director of the Asian Elephant Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, which is based in Kunming. He said that the forested corridor connecting the reserve to Myanmar, once used by the elephants, has been largely replaced by rubber and tea plantations, isolating the elephant population.

"For me, that's the biggest challenge the Nangunhe population of Asian elephants has encountered," Chen said.

To address the challenges, he said that "we need to introduce new individuals to the population to enhance genetic diversity, balance the sex ratio, and improve the population's ability to withstand external environmental changes" in the future.

At present, Qin said, he still feels positive about the population's health. "The elephant population has grown from 12 in 2018 and five calves have been born since 2019," he said. "That means under our conservation, the population of Asian elephants is still growing in Nangunhe."

chenliang@chinadaily.com.cn