Prince William came face-to face with an elephant named Ran Ran Wednesday as his tour of China came to an end.
He used his visit to an elephant sanctuary to condemn the illegal wildlife trade, but not before getting to know his new friend.
As the pair bonded, the Duke of Cambridge fed carrots to the 13-year-old female elephant who was found in 2005 with a leg wound caused by an iron clamp trap.
The sanctuary is in Yunnan province, a tropical region bordering Myanmar and Laos that has been the focus of government efforts to stop poaching and reduce conflicts between people and elephants that eat their crops, according to the Associated Press.
After speaking to some villagers in Xishuangbanna prefecture to find out how they adapt to living close to these elephants, the prince used a speech to speak out about the illegal wildlife trade.
"The greatest threat to elephants worldwide today is not local farmers protecting their livelihoods, it is ruthless and organised poaching and trafficking," he said, calling the practise a "vicious form of criminality" that "erodes the rule of law, fuels conflict and may even fund terrorism".
The prince, who is the president of the organisation United for Wildlife, added that elephants are heading towards extinction in the wild. He said that would be "an immeasurable loss to humanity."
Happy #WorldWildlifeDay! Watch our new short film on #elephants, narrated by @TheGlennClose. http://t.co/Dm5ncfe7UA pic.twitter.com/seoP8Jgm1W— WCS (@TheWCS) March 3, 2015
Tens of thousands of African elephants have been slaughtered in recent years to meet a growing appetite for ivory in Asia, primarily China, the AP reports. China banned ivory imports for a year last week, but there is no ban on the trade within the country.
Prince William arrived in China on Sunday after spending four days in Japan. During his visit he met Chinese political leaders and entrepreneurs, and launched a festival to promote British creativity and innovation. He also visited Beijing's Forbidden City and met President Xi Jinping, telling him that he hopes China can become a world leader in the field of wildlife conservation.