PHOTO / CHINA
China's migrating elephants travel slightly northwest
By Xinhua Published: Jun 16, 2021 08:41 AM
Aerial photo taken on June 14, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Shijie Township of Yimen County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province.(Photo: Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on June 14, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Shijie Township of Yimen County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province.(Photo: Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on June 11, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Yimen County of Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The wandering wild Asian elephant herd has headed 8.12 km further southwest as of 5 p.m. Friday. They were seen lingering by Shijie Township in Yimen County. Photo:Xinhua

Aerial photo taken on June 11, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Yimen County of Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The wandering wild Asian elephant herd has headed 8.12 km further southwest as of 5 p.m. Friday. They were seen lingering by Shijie Township in Yimen County. Photo:Xinhua

Aerial photo taken on June 6, 2021 shows wild Asian elephants in Jinning District of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. A herd of wild Asian elephants have made a temporary stop along their migration in the outskirts of the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, authorities said Monday. Of the 15 elephants, one male has broken free from the herd and is currently about 4 km to the northeast of the group, according to the on-site command tracking the elephants.(Photo: Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on June 6, 2021 shows wild Asian elephants in Jinning District of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. A herd of wild Asian elephants have made a temporary stop along their migration in the outskirts of the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, authorities said Monday. Of the 15 elephants, one male has broken free from the herd and is currently about 4 km to the northeast of the group, according to the on-site command tracking the elephants.(Photo: Xinhua)


The wandering wild Asian elephant herd that has caught global attention has headed 1.3 km northwest in Shijie Township in the city of Yuxi, in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

A male elephant, which strayed 10 days ago, is now about 19.1 km away from the herd, and all the 15 elephants are safe and sound, according to the headquarters in charge of monitoring their migration.

The animals have entered forests after taking food from farmland, complicating the efforts to guide and monitor them and take safety precautions.

The herd traveled about 500 km from their forest home in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture before reaching Kunming, the provincial capital, late on June 2.

For over a month, authorities have sent police to escort the herd, evacuated roads to facilitate their passage, and used food to distract them from entering densely populated areas.

Asian elephants, which are mostly found in Yunnan, are under A-level state protection in China. Thanks to enhanced protection efforts, the wild elephant population in the province has grown to about 300, up from 193 in the 1980s.