to follow the movements of the 15 animals which includes two calves born on the road but with the elephants showing no sign of returning home or settling down in a new place attempts by wildlife officials to direct them could be risky experts warn using truckloads of pineapple and sugarcane to bait them could irreversibly domesticate the herd its like getting a child used to eating sugar said wang hongxin from beijing normal university during his surveys of elephant habitats in yunnan wang has seen how elephant canteens planted with corn bamboo and wild bananas to dissuade the beasts from pilfering fields have changed their diet making them more prone to disease the current march spotlights the threats facing asian elephants he added warning conflicts would rise if habitat size is further reduced humans must retreat and let land return to the wild