Mysterious elephant march holds China in suspense: they’ve already traveled 500 kilometers and caused million dollars in damage

A herd of 15 elephants embarked on a long march of hundreds of kilometers in southwest China, destroying crops and causing more than a million dollars in damage.

The herd, which includes three baby elephants, left the Xishuangbanna reserve in mid-April, a border region with Laos and Burma, heading north and has traveled 500 kilometers since then, Chinese television reported.

Zoologists don’t understand why the elephants left the reserve where they lived and they walked so long.

This Wednesday, the herd was in Yuxi, 20 kilometers from the Kunming metropolis of nearly seven million inhabitants, capital of Yunnan province.

Road traffic has been blocked for animals and barriers are erected and food is used as bait to try to keep them away from Kunming and other populated areas.

Television broadcasts images of elephants passing through towns at night, stopping on main roads or destroying corn fields.

Their pilgrimage is closely followed by the locals and monitored with drones by the police.

Chen Mingyong, an Asian elephant expert cited by Xinhua, noted that the incident is the longest wild elephant migration on record in China. It is possible that your leader “lacks experience and lost the whole group”Chen added.

Last week the elephants emptied a water tank and a farm’s grain reserves, according to television.

“We were sleeping in the attic and around one in the morning we heard noises. I looked out the window and saw two adult elephants in the yard. I called the village chief and he told me not to move or make noise, ”said a villager, while showing the results of animals passing through his house.

From the start of the march, the herd caused 6.8 million yuan ($ 1.1 million) in damage, including destruction of 56 hectares of crops.

Elephants roamed the streets of Eshan town last week for six hours after authorities warned residents to stay home, he said. Xinhua. The authorities are trying to channel the route of the herd. A total of 360 people with 76 cars and nine drones are controlling the animals, according to the agency.

In recent years, pachyderms tend to approach inhabited areas because the agriculture replaces your favorite plants with inedible species.

Wild elephants are protected in China. Currently they are around 300 against 200 in the 1980s. They live exclusively in the tourist and tropical region of Xishuangbanna.

(With AFP, AP, EFE information)

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