High-tech monitoring keeps track of elephants

Li Chao, from Manzhuang village, Mohan town, Mengla, said: "With this app, it is easy to track the movements of the elephants on a daily basis. In this way, human and elephant conflicts can basically be avoided."

The 47-year-old, who has been an elephant observer since 2019, patrols mountainous areas at least 10 days every month.

He said local residents know they should keep their distance from the animals.

"They should not stare at or threaten the animals. The elephants are so smart that if they are scared by someone, they might 'take revenge' in the future," said Li Chao, who has encountered wild elephants several times.

In 2019, when he and three other rangers were patrolling the mountains, they found there was a herd of elephants behind them.

"We were scared and ran for our lives, but the elephants were scared, too. They got away from us and went down the mountain," he said.

To report the situation to the WeChat group, the rangers raced to a location where their phones had a signal. At the time, there was no early warning system.

At around 5 pm one day in August, Li Chao encountered an elephant herd eating villagers' corn. They devoured the crop, which covered an area of about 700 square meters.

"Fortunately, the insurance company paid out. The level of compensation has been raised from 400 yuan ($62.44) per mu (0.06 hectares) to 600 yuan," Li Chao said, adding that the lost corn was "no big deal".

"The elephants require our protection. I think their habitat needs to be expanded. Why do they want to eat our corn? Maybe it is because there is less food for them," he said.