Xiong: Every wild Asian elephant is precious

In the tropical rainforests of Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture of Yunnan province, Xiong Chaoyong is well-known as the “grandpa” of elephants. Actually, he serves as a veterinarian at the Asian Elephant Conservation and Management Center of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

For 19 years, Xiong has rescued critically ill, injured, and trapped wild Asian elephants. He has employed advanced technology to conduct dynamic observations of over 200 wild Asian elephants, accumulating a wealth of firsthand data on elephant behavior and habitat improvement. Thus, he has made significant contributions to the research and conservation of this terrestrial species and the biodiversity.

"I really love elephants, and I’m passionate about my job," said Xiong proudly. The title of elephants’ grandpa was given to him several years ago. Back to 19 years ago, when patrol officers discovered a severely injured baby elephant in the jungle of the reserve, he won the title of elephants’ dad. During the treatment, this elephant, named Ranran, beat its chief veterinarian into the hospital. At that time, an experienced staff member was urgently needed to continue caring for and treating Ranran. Xiong, who had such experience, carried on this work.

To provide better treatment and round-the-clock care, Xiong even set up a bed next to Ranran’s house. During the recovery, Ranran finally accepted Xiong as its dad. On September 23 in 2019, Ranran gave birth to a baby elephant named Jingjing, thus, Xiong became a grandpa. Jingjing is the first baby elephant bred in the center. Now, Jingjing, Xiong’s “granddaughter” is four years old and is healthy.

To Xiong, every wild Asian elephant is precious. In the past two years, Xiong and his colleagues have operated drones, infrared cameras, and utilized satellite data to minimize human interference with wild elephants, making the observation of over 200 elephants more precise and efficient. Aerial, terrestrial, and human patrols provide firsthand materials and data for the protection and breeding research of wild elephants.

"We have found that interactions between wild Asian elephant populations have become increasingly frequent in the past two years, which is a really good thing," Xiong said. Recently, they saw several elephant groups that usually live around the Wild Elephant Valley have 6 more new born cubs.

Rescuing wild Asian elephants has long lacked diagnostic and scientific medication basis. In-depth research is also fraught with risks and challenges. Over the years, Xiong and his colleagues have collected blood and urine samples from healthy elephants, compared them with data from pathological conditions, identified patterns, and thus established an Asian elephant blood biochemical database.

"We are currently exploring the detection of maternal elephant hormones to precisely analyze specimen information,” said Xiong. He hopes this data can help improve the success rate of elephant mating and natural pregnancy.

Source: Yunnan News app; trans-editing by Wang Yunya