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Asian elephants mostly roam outside protected areas — and it’s a problem

Human–elephant conflict is the biggest threat for Asian elephants.
  1. Jane Qiu
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An aerial view of a herd of wild Asian elephants in a gardened village mountainside in Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China, 2021.

A herd of Asian elephants wandered out of their nature reserve in southwestern China last year. Credit: Wang Zhengpeng/VCG via Getty

Asian elephants spend most of their time outside protected areas because they prefer the food they find there, an international team of scientists reports. But this behaviour is putting the animals and people in harm’s way, say researchers.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03318-y

The reporting of the story was supported by International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.

References

  1. de la Torre, J. A. J. Appl. Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14286 (2022).

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