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 evacuate¹ 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 spoke² on condition of anonymity³, 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 apparently⁴ 'jilted' elephant showing its frustrations⁵.

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 maturity⁶. He's like a young lad in his adolescence⁷. He played with people and their cars on his way of finding a spouse⁸. 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 plantations⁹ 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 ecosystems¹⁰ and strike a balance between protection and development.

For CRI' this is Guo Yan.

1 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

6 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

7 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

8 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

9 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

10 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句