(Yicai Global) July 9 -- The Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Administration set up a 165-acre feeding area for wild animals including elephants in Xishuangbanna in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan. The move has reduced elephants' foraging of nearby communities' croplands, easing the so-called 'human-elephant conflict.'

Many wild Asian elephants live in Xishuangbanna, which borders Burma, also known as Myanmar. This species' population has grown in the region in recent years, and wild elephants have raided crops, damaged houses and injured and killed humans, CNR News reported.

The Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Administration selected a site to establish a feeding area for the region's wild animals in hopes of ameliorating the situation. Its staff considered the habits of local animals and cultivated plants such as paper mulberry and thysanolaena maxima (Amliso) to attract them.

By monitoring the area with the support of the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Protection Project, local departments found that many Asian elephants, sambar deer and wild boars came to the site to search for food after it was founded.

The Asian elephant is one of the first category protected species in China. There are about 300 of them that mainly live in parts of the country close to its border with Burma such as Xishuangbanna, Puer and Lincang.