Asian elephant "Longlong" foraged for food with its keeper. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Under the warm winter sun, dozens of elephant keepers and managers in green clothes sat in a circle in the open space close to the elephant staple of Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Yunnan Province, acquiring knowledge about Asian elephant protection.

At the nearby grassland, a 7-year-old elephant calf "Yangniu" and a less than 2-year-old baby elephant "Longlong," played around while several elephants eating grass in the nearby forest.

In July 2021, in Jinhong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, due to a festering infection of its left front leg, a 2-month-old baby elephant was abandoned after it was unable to keep up with the herd. Several departments in Xishuangbanna conducted a joint emergency rescue of this baby elephant. It was sent to the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center for further treatment and was named "Longlong." It gradually recovered and grew up after being carefully tended by elephant keepers for more than a year. 

The elephant keeper with the rescued elephant prepared for wild survival training. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center, located in the scenic area of the Wild Elephant Valley, is the only scientific research base in China focusing on the shelter, rescue, and breeding of Asian elephants at present. The center has joined in the rescue work of wild Asian elephants more than 20 times, with 10 elephants successfully rescued.

According to Hongxi, the Deputy General Manager of Wild Elephant Valley, the center has successfully bred 9 baby elephants using assisted reproductive technologies over the past 10 years, .

The elephant keeper Wang Bo was examining the body of an elephant. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

After elephant keepers took good care of the lost orphan elephant, the accidentally injured female elephant and the male elephant hurt during the fight over a spouse and so on, these wounded elephants either physically or mentally healed slowly and gradually regained their survival ability in the wild. Elephant keepers treated rescued elephants like their children, and they have built a harmonious relationship over time.

The vet Bao Mingwei from Wild Elephant Valley, examined an elephant's body. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

In 2021, a herd of wild Asian elephants made an unprecedented northward journey and then returned to their natural habitat. (Editors: Ines, Rachel)