China’s wandering elephants on the transfer once more – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BEIJING – (AP) – China’s famous migratory elephants are on the move again, moving southwest while a male who has broken out of the herd is still keeping his distance.

The group left a game reserve in southwest Yunnan Province more than a year ago and hiked 500 kilometers (300 miles) north to the outskirts of the provincial capital, Kunming.

On Saturday they were spotted in Shijie Township in Yuxi City, more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of the Kunming suburb, where they arrived last week, according to state media reports. The lone male was ten miles away, still on the outskirts of Kunming.

The direction of their travel could bode well as the authorities hope to return them to their original home in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest of Kunming.

The authorities tried to keep a distance between them and local residents, blocked roads in villages and tried to lure them away with drops of food. Even so, the herd of 15 raided farms, strolled through city streets, and searched for snacks in villages and even in an old people’s home.

All animals should be healthy and nobody was injured when they encountered them. Officials have issued strict instructions not to stare at them or drive them away with guns or other means. China’s around 300 wild elephants enjoyed the highest protection status, on par with the country’s unofficial mascot, the panda bear.

However, given the steady rain in the area and the amount of onlookers expected around the Dragon Boat Festival on Monday, additional precautions will be taken. Additional rescue workers, vehicles and drones have been deployed to monitor the elephants’ movements and protect local residents, the reports said. On Friday around 2.5 tonnes of feed were laid out for the animals.

It remains unclear why the elephants started their migration, although Evan Sun, head of wildlife campaign at World Animal Protection, said possible reasons could be food shortages, an increase in elephant populations, and most importantly, habitat loss.

“The rise in human-elephant conflicts reflects the urgency for more strategic policies and plans to protect these endangered wildlife and their natural habitats,” Sun wrote in an email.

“This also provides a great opportunity to educate the public about the challenges wildlife faces for survival and the need for better government, industry and society protection,” Sun wrote. “These animals belong in the wild. We need to keep a safe distance from them, which is good for us and the wild animals. “

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