Round-the-clock monitoring, emergency deployment help ensure safety of migrating elephants in Yunnan

A special protection team consisting of over 300 police officers and emergency response personnel have been deployed to take care of and feed the herd of wandering wild elephants in southwest China's Yunan Province recently.

A total of 312 people, with 217 muck trucks and 79 emergency vehicles, were deployed in this operation, placing 2.2 tons of food and 2.8 kilograms of salt on roads for the elephants and stopping at least 450 locals entering the areas where the herd might pass.

The herd of 14 elephants marched 9.78 km southeastward within 24 hours, from 17:00 on Monday to 17:00 on Tuesday.

Aerial footage captured by drones which have been used to track their movement, showing that the elephants were taking a snooze in a forest near Xinping County of Yuxi City.

A male elephant, which has strayed from the herd for months, is now 69.5 km away in Hongta District, Yuxi.