Stray wild elephants take a nap in a forest in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The herd left its original habitat on April 16 and wandered more than 600 kilometers. Photo: VCG

 
The wild Asian elephant herd, which just headed westward after resting at the outskirts of southwestern Chinese city Kunming, was safe after an earthquake hit a county 15 kilometers away from their location on Thursday evening. 

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Shuangbai county of Chuxiong prefecture, Southwest China’s Yunnan province at a depth of 8 kilometers at 7:46 pm. Communication is stable and there have been no reports of casualties as of press time, China News Agency reported.

The epicenter is 15 kilometers away from the elephant herd that had caught worldwide attention over the past weeks. The herd started marching again Wednesday after wandering around suburban Kunming for two days amid thunderstorm. 

The herd was resting when the quake hit, and they were safe, a local emergency response staff told media, adding that the quake can be felt at the elephants’ location and last for five to six seconds.  

More than 170 firefighters and dozens of vehicles and rescue equipment have been dispatched to the epicenter.