15 Asian elephants head for north, 120 km off Kunming

15 Asian elephants have recently kept heading for the north, entering Ershan County of Yunnan’s Yuxi City for the first time, only 120 kilometers away from the provincial capital city, Kunming.

At present, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Yunnan Province and local staff are monitoring with full efforts. Their job is to locate where the land giants are and alert nearby villagers to hide and evacuate.

Let’s review these giants’ track from the very beginning.

On April 16, a group of 17 elephants, originally living in a nature reserve of Xihuangbanna, southern Yunnan, began striding from Mojiang County in Puer City to Yuanjiang County in Yuxi.

On the morning of May 16, 15 elephants (2 were lost and returned to Mojiang County on April 24) entered Baoxiu Town of Shiping County in Honghe Prefecture.

At 8 pm of May 24, the elephant group kept wandering to Ershan County in Yuxi and stopped in Daweidu Village.

On the evening of May 25, the elephant astray found its group in Daweidu Village.

By 7 pm of May 26, they were approaching the town where humans live in bulk, only 200 meters away.

Experts say it is important to take some measures to prevent elephants group marching northward where there is a dense population. The measures should not only ensure the safety of people but also ensure the elephants protected effectively.

Source: Yunnan Net; Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi