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In early 2020, 16 wild Asian elephants I Elephas maximus i , an iconic species of the tropical forest of South-east Asia and a First Category Key Protected Wild Animal Species in China, left the tropical forests of Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, on the China-Laos-Myanmar border, and headed northwards through a heavily modified anthropogenic landscape (see map below). In addition to investigating why elephants are leaving Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve and to considering a new action plan for Asian elephant conservation in the country, we need to ensure the safety of people in the areas through which the elephants pass, and that of these roaming elephants. [Extracted from the article]

In 2008 Przewalski's gazelle Procapra przewalskii, endemic to the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China, was recategorized from Critically Endangered to Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The species is still, however, threatened, and the human population and accompanying domestic livestock are increasing around Qinghai Lake. Here we provide up-to-date information on the distribution and population size of the species, evaluate its current conservation status and discuss the difficulties of protecting this gazelle species. We used both distance sampling and total counts to survey 16 sites where the species has been reported and found it at 13 of these, occupying a total area of c. 250 km2. Population size estimated from distance sampling (1,635) and total counts (1,544) was similar. About 20% of the gazelles located were in newly discovered areas for the species. The results indicate an overall growth in the population of Przewalski's gazelle since 2003, although some subpopulations have declined or been extirpated. In spite of conservation efforts Przewalski's gazelle is still threatened by habitat degradation and loss, habitat fragmentation, fencing, intensified competition with domestic livestock and predation. Further growth of this gazelle population is constrained by limited habitat availability and human–gazelle conflict. We recommend that management and conservation strategies need to incorporate comprehensive knowledge of the gazelle, long-term monitoring, and captive breeding of injured and orphaned gazelles to form a potential pool of individuals for future reintroductions to the historical range of the species outside the Qinghai Lake basin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Trade records show that since the 1990s China has changed from a net exporting to a net importing country with respect to some species of snakes. Imports of snakes to China increased up to 2002, when the National Wildlife Management Authority imposed a suspension of international trade in snakes. We investigated the impact of the ban using the same methods as an earlier study of this trade for the period 1990–2001. We found that both imports and exports of snakes recorded in the CITES Trade Database and the Wild Animal and Plant International Trade Database of China have decreased markedly since 2004. The combination of national-level control measures and CITES regulations appear to have controlled the previously unsustainable utilization of snakes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses initiatives taken by China to deal with illegal ivory trade that has become a threat to wildlife. Topics discussed include the ban on import of ivory carvings announced by the State Forestry Administration of China, the Demand-side Strategies for Curbing Illegal Ivory Trade workshop that was organized to understand economy of illegal trade and participation in the law enforcement operation Operation Cobra III that led to several seizures such as elephant ivory.

The article offers information on a project launched by the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Chinese Academy of Sciences which is focused on evaluating the life of vertebrates in China.

The article reports that the tiger Panthera tigris has been ranked in the Appendix one of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

The article reports that a meeting on the reopening of the international trophy hunting of blue sheep and seven Tibetan gazelles in Dulan International Hunting Ground, Qinghai Province, China was conducted by the State Forestry Administration's national wildlife management authority held on August 5, 2011. It says that the issue came out after five years suspension of international trophy hunting. It mentions that an alliance was formed by persons who oppose the idea.

The hog deer Axis porcinus formerly occurred in south-west China but has not been recorded there since 1965. To investigate the current status of the species in China, we conducted interviews, and transect and camera-trap surveys during October 2018–June 2020 to search for signs of hog deer across its historical range in the country. We interviewed 50 local inhabitants and surveyed 14 line transects in four counties of Lincang City, Yunnan Province. The camera traps were deployed in Nangunhe Nature Reserve (39.4 km of transects, 82 camera stations, 15,120 camera days) and Daxueshan Nature Reserve (41.1 km of transects, 68 camera stations, 13,554 camera days). We found no hog deer tracks and no hog deer were trapped by cameras. The floodplain grasslands preferred by hog deer along Nanting River have been transformed into agriculture plantations and human settlements. Our findings suggest that hog deer may have been extirpated from China, most likely as a result of habitat loss and overhunting. The conservation priorities for this species in China are the establishment of a protected area in the Nanting River watershed, restoration of habitat and reintroduction of individuals from range countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]