15 wild tuskers on the run, keep China on edge
BEIJING: A herd of 15 wild elephants has captured national attention in China after walking through forests, highways, and urban areas for 500km over weeks, reaching the outskirts of Kunming city in southern Yunnan by Wednesday afternoon.
The herd was in Yuxi, about 20km from Kunming, a city of seven million, the Xinhua news agency said. Officials were scampering to issue early warnings and evacuate citizens to minimise damage in inhabited areas at the city border. Images taken by drones show six female, three male adults, three juveniles and three calves.
The Asian elephants have been followed by forest officials in vehicles attempting to divert them away from populated areas with food, and by putting up temporary blockades.
Traffic had to be suspended on the roads the herd took. The tuskers passed through several counties and occasionally wandered into villages and towns, triggering both alarm and awe.
Television journalists have pursued the elephants, streaming live footage of the animals’ marathon migration onto social media platforms.
So far, they have “wreaked havoc in 412 cases, damaging 56 hectares of farmland in the counties of Yuanjiang and Shiping alone, incurring direct economic losses of about 6.8mn yuan ($1.1mn)”, Xinhua reported.
Chinese wildlife authorities say they don’t know why the herd left a nature reserve last year near the city of Pu’er.
Until Tuesday, more than 360 people, 76 police cars and dirt trucks and nine drones were mobilised while 18 tonnes of elephant food had been prepared to lure the elephants from populated areas.