Xinhua News Agency, Kunming, August 12 (Reporters Wu Xiaoyang and Zhao Peiran) "Kunliu" has a majestic physique and a pair of iconic tusks of an adult bull elephant. Looking at the wild elephant world, he is a "handsome guy".
Unfortunately, he lost two fights with other male elephants. Kunliu became blind in his right eye and suffered physical and psychological trauma. After being rescued by humans, Kunliu seemed to have no intention of "fighting" anymore and became a "homebody" in the elephant house of the Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center.
Kunliu undergoing rewilding training (file photo).
fell down the hillside after a fight, but was rescued in time.
Kunliu was rescued 14 years ago. One day in 2010, a forest ranger from Kunge Village, Mengyang Town, Jinghong City, heard the high-pitched roar of wild elephants and violent collisions coming from the nearby valley. Following the sound, he rushed to the scene and found: an adult male elephant. He fell down a hillside more than 80 meters high and lay on the ground unable to move. There was a lot of blood on his body.
After receiving the report from the ranger, the relevant departments immediately organized a rescue team of nearly 50 people to rush to the scene for rescue. "Elephant Dad" Chen Jiming recalled that the wild elephant was seriously injured and had fallen into a coma. There was blood at the corners of its mouth and mouth, and it was estimated that it had suffered internal injuries. On the hillside, people also found traces of fierce fights between male elephants.
Although the wild elephant had already lied down, people still did not dare to approach rashly. Instead, they used a bamboo pole to pick up a knot, put it on the ivory, and then woke up the wild elephant. Following the wild elephant's own strength, everyone worked together to pull it up. Chen Jiming said: "Fortunately, it was discovered in time. If a wild elephant lies down for too long, its internal organs will be damaged and it will never get up again."
Seeing that the wild elephant was able to walk, the rescue team evacuated immediately. Who could have expected that two days later this wild elephant would come to the road of Kunge Team 6 and wander back and forth. It knew that it had suffered internal injuries and hoped that humans would come to rescue it. The rescue team came to the scene again and transported him back to the ambulance center for treatment.
"Because it was rescued on the Kunluo Highway of the Kunge Sixth Team on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, we named it Kunliu and hoped that it would have good luck on June 6th." Chen Jiming said.
The second time they fought, they still didn’t win.
Kunliu was about 26 years old when he was rescued. He was about 2.4 meters tall and weighed about 2.6 tons. He was really a giant in front of humans. Kunliu, who was in estrus, was wild and unruly, and showed obvious resistance after arriving at the rescue center.
Healing Kunliu is a technical job. "Daddy Elephant" didn't dare to get close. High-pressure water guns were used to spray medicine from a distance to debridement and reduce inflammation. Oral medicine for treating internal injuries was hidden in the fruit. Bao Mingwei, the elephant doctor, said: "It is difficult to give medicine. Some medicines are too bitter and the elephant will spit it out. Before eating, it will step on it with its feet to check whether there is any hidden medicine. We change the fruits to hide the medicine every day. Hide less at a time. "
Under the careful care of "Elephant Dad", it took about a year for Kunliu to let down his guard and "Elephant Dad" dared to get close to it and take it out for wild training.
"Elephant Dad" takes Kunliu out for wild training (file photo).
One day in 2019, Kunliu was training in the wild with "Elephant Daddy" when he encountered a male elephant in estrus, Bamboo Shoot Teeth. When they met on a narrow road, they had another fight.
Chen Jiming introduced that there are two adult male elephants that often move around in the Wild Elephant Valley, one is called Da Pai Ya and the other is called Bamboo Shoot Ya. Da Pai Ya is big and strong, and is invincible in a fight. Other bull elephants avoid him. Only Bamboo Shoot Ya dares to challenge it, but Bamboo Shoot Ya is relatively thin and cannot win every challenge.
"That time, Bamboo Shoot Ya lost the battle and was in a bad mood. He destroyed 16 cars on the road. When he met Kunliu, he had a fight with it." Chen Jiming said that Kunliu was poked several times on the shoulder and ear. There was a hole in the hole, so "Elephant Dad" quickly brought him back for treatment.
Kunliu, who is about 40 years old this year, is in his prime. He now weighs nearly 3 tons and is about 2.5 meters tall. Except for eyesight, other physical indicators are in good health.
Kunliu undergoing rewilding training (file photo).
In the wild elephant world, male elephants usually leave the herd around the age of 12, or are driven away by the herd. Male elephants that are not in estrus usually move alone, sometimes in groups of two or three. Male elephants in estrus will actively approach the herd to look for female elephants in estrus. They will fight with other male elephants when they encounter them. Such fights are often very fierce and the winner must be decided before they end.
"The winning male elephant will get more mating opportunities, which is a natural law that is conducive to the reproduction of wild elephant populations." Bao Mingwei said.
Chen Jiming introduced that Kunliu has already entered the "physical maturity period" and has estrus for several months every year. There are two adult female elephants in the rescue center, namely "Ping Ping" and "Ran Ran", but Kunliu seems to "not call" them. When going out for wild training, he does not communicate with other female elephants and only forages for food alone.
"Kunliu's eyes were injured and he has no advantage in surviving in the wild." Bao Mingwei said that "elephant dads" still hope that one day Kunliu can return to nature, adapt to wild life, and make its own contribution to the proliferation of wild elephant populations.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
