你想见见柬埔寨大象么?

象是群居性动物，以家族为单位，由雌象做首领，每天活动的时间，行动路线，觅食地点，栖息场所等均听雌象指挥。而成年雄象只承担保卫家庭安全的责任。有时几个象群聚集起来，结成上百只大群。

Wild elephants might one day be a sight of the past. Experts say only 40,000 to 50,000 wild Asian elephants remain across Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the elephant population has dwindled from 2,000 in 1995 to about 400 today.

With the destruction of their natural habitats, elephants are forced to search for food on farmlands, bringing them into conflict with humans.

Nick Marx is the manager of the Phnom Ta Mao Wildlife Reserve, which provides a new home for at-risk elephants.

Landmines left over from Cambodia's three-decade-long conflict have killed many elephants. But, Marx says it's the international wildlife trade that is the biggest threat to elephants today.

"The main threats elephants face within Cambodia is the same as most other species face - it's conflict with human beings - there's great forest loss so there's deforestation and also obviously there is a certain amount of hunting. Our elephant here was snared."

Marx says elephants in Cambodia are hunted for their tails, tusks and the tips of their trunks - body parts which are seen as symbols of power.

"The wildlife trade is huge. It's decimating all species - elephants for tusks and various body parts and the same goes for all species. Trade, not within Cambodia particularly, but with other countries, is huge, and if we are to conserve elephants and other wildlife, wildlife trade must stop."

The loss of so many Asian Elephants has seen this majestic species added to the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Animals. But in Cambodia, one organization has succeeded in stopping the downward trend.

Founded in 2005, The Cambodian Elephant Conservation Group has succeeded in stabilizing the wild elephant population at about 400 by working with local communities.

The program helps former hunters earn a good living from alternatives like agriculture. Former hunter Mundy used to hunt elephants and other wild animals to supplement his meager farming income.

"I used to hunt wild animals in this area for many years and I killed many of them. But when I met the elephant conservation team I began to change my habits. They showed me how to grow high-value crops and I actually earn more money doing that."

The group also visits schools to educate children on how to co-exist with elephants. The children then pass the new knowledge to their parents.

Electric fences are provided free of charge to protect valuable crops. Volunteers man a series of watchtowers near villages to keep an eye out for approaching elephants. Noise makers are used to scare them away.

Vathana Tuy, the founder and head of the Cambodian Elephant Conservation Group, says that the world could learn some valuable lessons from his experience working to protect elephants in Cambodia.

"I think that the world can learn a couple of useful things from our experience. Firstly I think you have to inspire people to want to protect elephants, to have a high tolerance for them and secondly the best way to protect elephants is to work with local communities and to make it worth their while to protect the elephants. I think that's the most successful strategy."

For CRI, I am Li Dong