With drones and bananas, China coaxes wayward elephants home

This picture taken on July 23, 2021 shows a member of the Yunnan Forest Brigade monitoring a herd of migrating elephants from the command centre in Daqiao in southwest China's Yunnan province. - AFP

DAQIAO, China (AFP): First the entire village is shooed indoors, its power supply is cut, and finally bananas and other elephant treats are dumped on the opposite side of town to coax the uninvited guests to pass through.

So goes the routine welcome ceremony for China's wayward herd of 14 wild elephants, whose wandering ways have sparked an unusual operation aimed at steering them home across steep, winding, and often populated terrain.