Xishuangbanna sets up 66.7-hactare foraging base for wild animals

Since this May, elephants, sambars, boars and other wild animals have been photographed foraging in the Lianhuatang Foraging Base in south Yunnan's Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. This means that initial success has been achieved in the construction of the Lianhuatang Base.

The Lianhuatang Foraging Base is about 66.7 hectares in size and is set up in a bid to reduce human-animal collisions, especially the ones between local people and wild Asian elephants in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve. 

Since the start of the base construction at the beginning of this year, crofton weeds and other alien plant species have been removed, and Broussonetia papyrifera, roussonetia papyrifera and other plants have been planted according to the food habits of wild animals in the region to attract them to forage in the base. 

On May 23, management staff from the nature reserve set up 12 infrared cameras in the Lianhuatang Base. In a period of more than one month, 12,667 photos and 1,299 videos were taken and they show that wild Asian elephants, sambars, boars and other wild animals were foraging in the base. And according to statistics, human-animal collisions were reduced in the surrounding region. （Dai Zhenhua）

Editor: Eric Wang