Elephant doctor rescues giants in southwest China

Bao Mingwei treats "patients" more than 30 times his own size.

Bao, 39, is a veterinarian for wild elephants at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

For 18 years, Bao has helped rescue more than 20 wild elephants, 10 of which are still at the center for further rehabilitation training and medical treatment.

"Rescuing wild elephants is very difficult, as the animal is huge and can be aggressive and attack people sometimes," Bao said. "An adult Asian elephant weighs more than 2,000 kg."

Most elephants in need of help are reported by local villagers, and professional rescuers rush to the scene immediately.

"Some elephants were injured in fights or falls from mountains, and some were abandoned by their herd due to congenital diseases such as heart problems," Bao said.

According to Bao, wild elephants are intelligent. They leave sick herd members near villages on purpose, counting on humans to save them.

"Judging from their injuries and the situations on the ground, we deploy different rescue teams of about 60 people, sometimes even with a crane and a helicopter," he added.

"In remote areas, we even have to pave the way to transport the animals," he said.

According to Bao, the worst situation is rescuing at night when the forests are in utter darkness and a flashlight is the only tool when conducting rescue work.

Elephants slightly injured are sent back to the forests soon after recovery, but those in serious conditions have to be treated at the center for a long time before being released.

"For every elephant at the center, we arrange two keepers to accompany them 24 hours a day. They have to lead the elephants to the mountains every day for them to re-adapt to the wild," Bao said.


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Elephants Comfort Comrades During Rescue in China

Elephants are intelligent, highly social animals that are known to comfort and protect each other. This sympathetic behavior is on display in the above video, which shows the rescue of three Asian elephants in the Yunnan Province in southwest China.

The elephants were trapped for two days in a man-made pond with steep concrete walls, villagers told CCTV+. As the animals struggled, unable to climb out, other elephants came to their assistance.

The free elephants reached their trunks down into the pond, in displays that suggest they may have been trying to help, or at least comfort, the trapped animals. (Watch the touching reunion between a rescued elephant and her mother.)

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Digger used to rescue trapped elephants in China

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The two adult elephants helped the calf keep afloat as the water levels rose, with more than ten other elephants roaming around the tank, CCTV footage showed.

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