Yunnan officials in a quandary after wild elephants make 400km 'exodus'

Aerial photo taken on May 28, 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Eshan County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. - Xinhua

BEIJING (Global Times): Local authorities are tracking a herd of 15 wild Asian elephants in Southwest China's Yunnan Province as the animals migrate northward to urban areas. The elephants have travelled more than 400km, which is said to be a record journey, and local authorities have vowed all efforts to persuade these animals to return home.

Starting from Yunnan's southernmost prefecture, their original habitat Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, the elephants wandered through the county of Eshan and entered the city of Yuxi, less than 50kms from the provincial capital of Kunming, the Yunnan provincial forestry and grassland administration said on Saturday.