China to further promote protection of Asian elephants

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 9, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Yuanjiang County of Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

KUNMING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- China will take a slew of measures to further promote the protection of Asian elephants, an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) said on Thursday.

Zhang Zhizhong made the comments at a themed event in Mojiang County, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, to celebrate World Elephant Day and call for greater protection of Asian elephants.

The NFGA official said that China will strengthen the protection and restoration of the Asian elephant's habitat and soothe human-elephant conflict by indemnifying villagers against wildlife-related damage and setting up an alert system.

Moreover, the country will establish a stable gene pool for artificial breeding, while conducting international cooperation and exchanges to boost the protection of Asian elephants, Zhang added.

Asian elephants are under first-class state protection in China. There are currently 300 wild Asian elephants in Yunnan and the population continues to grow.

World Elephant Day falls on Aug. 12 every year.