Professionals trained to monitor Asian elephants (Xinhua) Updated: 2005-10-14 16:05 Wildlife observers are being
trained in southwest China's Yunnan Province to monitor and protect the
critically-endangered Asian elephants that roam virgin forests in the western
and southern parts of the province.
The training program, scheduled for Oct. 10-15, is sponsored by MIKE
(Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants), an international environmental
protection system that protects elephants from ivory poachers.
The trainees will be taught the basics of surveying in the wild,the use of
research tools, data collection and how to fill out international standard
monitoring forms. They are also expected to conduct field studies in
Xishuangbanna, said sources with the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve
Administration.
They said the training is designed to help elephant monitoring professionals
gather precise data about the animal's activities inorder to better understand
their habitat choices, their ideal ecosystem and the average size of elephant
communities.
The surveys in remote villages where elephants frequent will also provide
information about the animal's temperament and livinghabits and hopefully
minimize harm to human beings, domestic animals and cropland.
About 270 of the world's total 40,000 Asian elephants live in China,
including 250 in Xishuangbanna, where 23 monitoring stations have been set up.
MIKE, a system based on data collection and analysis, set up its four-year
monitoring program in China in 2004, covering Xishuangbanna, Simao and Lincang
in Yunnan Province. Globally, thesystem operates in 13 countries inhabited by
Asian elephants.
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