2016年CRI Experts Call for Wild Life Conservation amid Elephant's Highway Rampages

The elephant, named "Zhusunya" by locals, left a nature reserve last Friday and damaged more than a dozen cars parked along the road.

Another nine cars were damaged during a rampage on Monday.

Local workers say the elephant was probably angry after losing a fight for a mate.

Local police officers have been busy checking the damaged cars and trying to evacuate 1 people from the area.

Tang Zhouxing, a local police officer, says the elephant crushed some vehicles under its massive weight.

"This elephant sat its body on the car, and the whole car was shaking and was damaged badly. Now we can see the rear-view mirror of the car was destroyed and can't see the rear part. We will have a look after the elephant leaves. Now the elephant is coming up, so be careful."

A forest police officer, who spoke 2 on condition of anonymity 3, has said that along with losing the fight over its mate, the animal may also have been provoked by the increased presence of humans in its habitat around the Spring Festival holiday.

One witness said she saw the elephant walking towards a tourist coach and all people on the coach were frightened by it.

An unnamed tourist from Jilin province recalled the moment when their bus was attacked.

"The elephant came from this road, and walked along the road, hitting several cars then rushed towards our coach. At that moment all of us were sitting in the coach and were very scared. The elephant then focused on our coach and hit the front door of our coach. The elephant crashed the door with its forehead, and bumped the left rear-view mirror near the driver, it's about 90 degrees crooked,"

Dozens of tourists and locals were seen near the site, watching the apparently 4 'jilted' elephant showing its frustrations 5.

The local government has bought Public Liability Insurance for any damages caused by wild animals in the nature reserve.

Insurance companies are investigating the conditions of the cars and will offer compensation soon.

Shen Qingzhong a senior engineer with Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, says wild elephants are frequently seen in the area.

"He's familiar with the environment of the 'wild life valley' and the tourists there. He knew that people wouldn't hurt him. Judging from his age, he's around 15-year-old and is reaching sexual maturity 6. He's like a young lad in his adolescence 7. He played with people and their cars on his way of finding a spouse 8. He didn't attack the cars on purpose but played with the cars. '"

Wild Asian elephants are a level-one nationally protected species in China, with less than 300 in the country.

Chen Mingyong, a professor with the Yunnan University, says the number of wild Asian elephants has doubled compared to that of 1980s. Yet the species is still endangered due to habitat loss and a shortage of food.

"Asian elephants have a wide range of food sources. But they are big eaters and the overall storage of food is not enough. Also, with development in tropical areas, many forests have been turned into rubber plantations 9 and tea bushes. "

To ease the conflict between elephants and human beings, the expert stresses that the most important thing is to enhance efforts to protect forest ecosystems 10 and strike a balance between protection and development.

For CRI' this is Guo Yan.