Elephants and Slow Loris

Number of days: 1 day
Time: November
Average cost: 100 yuan
With whom: and friends
Updated: 2024.12.20

The Asian elephant is the largest extant land animal in Asia, and its weight generally ranges from 3 to 5 tons.

The slow loris weighs approximately 1 kg to 2.1 kg.

The Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area keeps elephants and slow loris in the same park, which is also a wonderful combination.

Xishuangbanna is the habitat of Asian elephants in China.

In 2021, many media outlets reported in succession on the incident of 16 wild elephants "elegantly" heading north. These elephants "ran away" north from the Mengyang China Wild Asian Elephant Nature Reserve near the Wild Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna Prefecture.

The Wild Elephant Valley has become a place in China where people can communicate closely with Asian wild elephants through a number of tourist projects, including the high-altitude elephant viewing plank road, the rainforest sightseeing cableway, and the Asian elephant performance school. It is known as the "bridge of communication between humans and Asian wild elephants." The Wild Elephant Valley Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area is located 36 kilometers northeast of Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna. On the afternoon of November 21st, we left the Chinese Academy of Sciences Tropical Botanical Garden and drove to the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area (a 4A scenic area). From the Tropical Botanical Garden, heading northwest via the Kunming-Mojiang Expressway, the Wild Elephant Valley North Gate Parking Lot is 66 kilometers, a one-hour drive. The main entrance to the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area is at the South Gate; in the afternoons, the South Gate parking lot is usually full. We found a space at the North Gate parking lot. The North Gate parking lot is slightly larger. The scenic area provides a free shuttle bus between the North and South Gates. Entering the South Gate, there's an "Elephant School" to the south. The Elephant School offers daily elephant performances. A complaint about the elephant performance venue: the area for viewing the elephants is very small, and even a few hundred people can easily fill it up.

On our way to the Elephant School, we first passed the Elephant Science Park, which is actually a place where you can feed the elephants for a fee.

Wild Elephant Valley Elephant Park

There's a fruit basket at the entrance. A small basket (a few carrots and cucumbers) costs ¥30, and a large basket costs ¥80. Once you buy a basket of fruit, you can enter the park to feed the elephants and even touch their trunks up close.

We thought this was the most attractive part of Wild Elephant Valley.

I've seen several elephant shows in China and Thailand, but this was my first time feeding an elephant directly.

Elephants are also picky eaters: seeing carrots and cucumbers, the elephants use their trunks to push the cucumbers aside first (there is a platform),

Elephants are also picky eaters: eating carrots first When there's no food left, the elephants stretch out their trunks to beg for food from tourists.

Elephants are also picky eaters: they eat carrots first.

There were no carrots left, so the elephant started eating cucumbers. The elephant's trunk rolled up and turned, and several cucumbers were rolled into the trunk. The trunk turned 180 degrees, and the cucumbers were put into the elephant's mouth. There were no carrots left, so the elephant started eating cucumbers. The elephant's trunk rolled up and turned, and several cucumbers were rolled into the trunk.

There were no carrots left, so the elephant started eating cucumbers. The elephant's trunk rolled up and turned, and several cucumbers were rolled into the trunk.

There were no carrots left, so the elephant started eating cucumbers. The elephant's trunk rolled up and turned, and several cucumbers were rolled into the trunk. Several cucumbers were rolled into the elephant's trunk, which then rotated 180 degrees and put the cucumbers into its mouth.

Elephants are picky eaters: they eat carrots first

The flexibility of the elephant's trunk is comparable to that of a human hand

Elephants are also picky eaters: they eat carrots first

Elephants are picky eaters: When they see carrots and cucumbers, they use their trunks to push the cucumbers aside (on a platform) and pick up the carrots. When carrots are gone, they start eating cucumbers. With a single twist, their trunks wrap around them, wrapping several cucumbers in their trunks. Then, with a 180-degree turn, the cucumbers are right in their mouths.

When food is out, they extend their trunks to tourists for food.

It's fair to say that an elephant's trunk is as flexible as a human hand.

When you visit Wild Elephant Valley, always visit the observatory to spot the wild elephants. The observatory is located west of the Wild Elephant Valley and is accessible via the 2,280-meter elevated plank road. The walk from the south gate to the observatory is quite uphill and strenuous. The Wild Elephant Valley scenic area offers a 2,063-meter-long "Tropical Rainforest Sightseeing Cableway" to the observatory. From the Elephant Science Park, walk northwest for about 360 meters to the lower cableway station. You'll also find the Elephant Canteen, which serves set meals (¥198-¥268).

You can dine at the Elephant Canteen

We took the cable car from the lower station of the cable car to the upper station of the cable car (west side of the scenic area).

We took the cable car from the lower station to the upper station of the cable car.

Each cable car box in Wild Elephant Valley can carry 2 people, the one-way trip takes 30 minutes, and the ticket price is 50 yuan/person.

Each cable car in the Wild Elephant Valley can accommodate 2 people, with a one-way journey of 30 minutes and a ticket price of 50 yuan per person.

The cable car glides above the dense tropical jungle, with a sea of green beneath your feet.

The cable car glides above the dense tropical jungle, with a sea of green beneath your feet

Take the cable car to the upper station; exit the cable car and walk back about 500 meters to the "Observatory". We stopped to observe but did not see any wild elephants.

We stopped to observe but did not see any wild elephants. The 1,360-meter-long plank road stretches from the observatory to the north gate. A winding river flows beneath the path. Rare tropical plants can be seen along the trail, as well as traces of wild elephants, such as footprints and feces.

Suddenly, we heard the roar of an elephant from behind. A tour guide leading the group behind us immediately led the tourists back;

I saw a large area of trees swaying and moving on the distant hillside.

We watched for more than ten minutes but didn't see any elephants. What a shame!

We were almost at the north gate, so there was no hope of seeing wild elephants.

A surprise was right in front of us: a small animal clung to a tree trunk, its eyes staring at us.

The security guard told us it was a slow loris.

A security guard guided the slow loris into the cage; we saw another slow loris in the cage with its eyes staring upwards.

The two slow loris are small, cute and have shaggy fur.

The security guard told me that the Wild Elephant Park has two slow lorises for tourists to watch and they will be sent to the breeding area in the evening.

The slow loris, scientifically known as the loris, is a small prosimian. Its physical characteristics can be summarized in fifteen words: wet nose, round head, flat face, large eyes, and small ears. Slow lorises are 34-38 cm long, and adults weigh between 1 and 2.1 kg. They are primarily found in the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. They feed on fruits, insects, small mammals, and snails and are nocturnal and arboreal.

Furthermore, the slow loris is the only venomous primate, deriving its venom from glands in its elbows, which it releases in self-defense when threatened. It's no wonder security guards are hesitant to physically arrest slow lorises.

The slow loris is now listed as an endangered species.

As of 2024, the slow loris population in China may be as few as 100-150 individuals.

Visiting the Asian Elephant Museum, this is the north gate of the scenic area.

Park your vehicle at the North Gate and take the scenic area shuttle bus from the South Gate. Exit the scenic area through the North Gate. This route is 1.2 kilometers shorter than exiting the South Gate and is the preferred option.

We spent three hours at the Wild Elephant Park.

Overnight in Jinghong. Jinghong City is south of the Wild Elephant Park.

From the South Gate of the Wild Elephant Park, head southwest via the Kunming-Mojiang Expressway and Xuanwei Avenue to Jinghong City. The journey is 33.3 kilometers, with seven traffic lights and a 50-minute drive.

Today's close encounters with elephants and slow lorises exceeded our expectations.