Lei Chang

My project explores how people in rural communities in China’s last tropical rainforest live alongside wild Asian elephants—which frequently forage in fields and damage crops—in a landscape increasingly shaped by conservation efforts.

I was drawn to this topic after the widely publicized journey of 17 wild Asian elephants from the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve to Kunming in 2021, traveling more than 500 km across southern China and drawing nationwide attention as they moved through human-inhabited areas. What appeared as an exceptional event to the public reflects a more ordinary reality in villages near nature reserve areas, where people and wildlife lived in the same environment.

The first time I saw a farmer’s field completely flattened by wild elephants, I watched a grey-haired woman slowly bend down to pick up scattered corn cobs from the soil, as if this kind of loss was part of everyday life. The contrast between the shocking damage and her quiet acceptance has stayed with me.

What surprised me most was the intelligence and agency of wild Asian elephants. They are not endangered species passively waiting to be managed or rescued. Rather, they are highly adaptive actors in the landscape, often finding ways to outmaneuver farmers’ efforts to protect their crops.

Wild animals and human communities are increasingly sharing the same spaces, often under conditions of tension and uncertainty. These relationships are lived unevenly, especially by rural communities who bear much of the responsibility and risk of coexistence.