Trackers ensure public remains aware of risks

In Mengla county, within Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture of Yunnan province, few people face a job as demanding as that of Luo Chenhou and Yan Guan. Tasked with using drones equipped with infrared cameras to monitor the activities of wild Asian elephants around the clock seven days a week, their commitment is unwavering.

"We often find ourselves aligning our schedules with the elephants'," Luo, 31, told China Daily in the office of the Mengla forestry and grassland bureau in the county seat. "Beginning our day in the wilderness around 8 to 9 in the morning, our work typically extends until the early hours of the following day, around 1 or 2 in the morning. Our break only comes when the elephants choose to rest in the forest."

As members of Mengla's Asian elephant monitoring team, Luo and Yan are part of a dedicated group of 16 individuals entrusted with overseeing the activities of over 120 wild elephants in the county. Their responsibilities include documenting essential information about elephant herds such as their whereabouts, group sizes and behaviors. The data is then relayed to the bureau, which disseminates it to local communities and residents through various communication channels such as radio broadcasts, loudspeakers or mobile messaging.