The ‘elephant incident’ that surprised the world for a year and a half happened in March 2020. A group of about 15elephants from a nature reserve in southern China headed north towards civilization. ‘Why did the elephants migrate?’, ‘What will happen to them in the future?’ People around the world asked as they watched their movements.

The herd travelled about 500kilometers north and returned to their homeland after 17months. Up to 150,000people scrambled to avoid collisions with the elephants.

The total distance traveled by the elephant herd wasn’t unprecedented 1,300kilometers. Unsurprisingly though, elephants are animals that are known to travel long distances. They protect forest by moving in groups to fnd food, water, and salt.
What does it mean by elephants protecting forest? As you know, elephants eat a lot of food. They eat any plants, regardless of grass or branch. However, elephants have a very low digestion rate, so more than half of their food is not digested and is excreted as waste. This amount is enormous. Elephant feces also contain undigested seeds from various plants. It is nutritious, like ‘fertilizers’. Elephants defecation the move, and it’s like sowing seeds. They have a reputation for being called ‘Natures planting machines.’

Elephants knock down trees and “destroy” the forest, but they also sow seeds to make new forests. Thanks to elephants, forest is restored. Therefore, elephants are the ‘core species’ of the ecosystem.However, more than 20,000elephants die every year because of poaching. In addition, forestsare destroyed for palm oil or rubber, and place to live is gradually lost. At this rate, earth’s nature protectors may disappear!Through this book, we can get to know elephants better and think about how to live with them. Now, let’s go meet the elephants!