MONITORING CHINESE ELEPHANTS

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/14/content_485026.htm 

Professionals trained to monitor Asian elephants

(Xinhua)

Updated: 2005-10-14 16:05

 

Wildlife observers are being trained in southwest China's Yunnan Province to

monitor and protect the critically-endangered Asian elephants that roam virgin

forests in the western and southern parts of the province.

 

The training program, scheduled for Oct. 10-15, is sponsored by MIKE (Monitoring

of Illegal Killing of Elephants), an international environmental protection

system that protects elephants from ivory poachers.

 

The trainees will be taught the basics of surveying in the wild,the use of

research tools, data collection and how to fill out international standard

monitoring forms. They are also expected to conduct field studies in

Xishuangbanna, said sources with the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve

Administration.

 

They said the training is designed to help elephant monitoring professionals

gather precise data about the animal's activities inorder to better understand

their habitat choices, their ideal ecosystem and the average size of elephant

communities.

 

The surveys in remote villages where elephants frequent will also provide

information about the animal's temperament and livinghabits and hopefully

minimize harm to human beings, domestic animals and cropland.

 

About 270 of the world's total 40,000 Asian elephants live in China, including

250 in Xishuangbanna, where 23 monitoring stations have been set up.

 

MIKE, a system based on data collection and analysis, set up its four-year

monitoring program in China in 2004, covering Xishuangbanna, Simao and Lincang

in Yunnan Province. Globally, thesystem operates in 13 countries inhabited by

Asian elephants.