After a 500km journey, a herd of 15 elephants arrives at Yunnan capital in China
- The elephants have become a popular story to track for many people in China
- But experts say the journey is the result of human development and they are searching for new habitat
A herd of 15 elephants entered the periphery of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China, on Wednesday night after travelling nearly 500km on a journey in search for new habitat.
01:26
Authorities on alert as wild elephants close in on major city in China
The elephants began this long journey months ago when they left the Mengyangzi Nature Reserve in Xishuangbanna, in the southwest corner of Yunnan. Public and government interests were first triggered when people spotted the herd nearly 100km north of Xishuangbanna in April, a Yunnan government notice said on Friday.
Initially, there were 17 elephants in the herd, but, on April 24, two appeared to have turned back while the rest moved to towns near the city of Yuxi, about 90km south of Kunming.
Last Friday, they entered Eshan village and walked along the main road, evacuated and blocked by police in advance. They also banged on residents’ doors.
Social media was full of posts and videos of sightings of the elephants. One video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, showed villagers shouting “They are coming” as a crowd ran down the main street in Eshan village, trailed by a police car that was then followed by the elephants.
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Wild elephants march on road in China