Wandering elephant herd takes a break
A wild Asian elephant herd has been migrating northward from southern China since March 2020. The herd has paused to rest. Audiences around the world are following their journey.
A wild Asian elephant herd left the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan in mid-March 2020 and began marching northward.
After crossing several counties and occasionally wandering into villages and towns, they have stopped in a suburb of Kunming City to rest.
The herd consists of 15 elephants in total, including three calves. One male has separated from the group and is currently reported to be about four kilometres away from the rest.
It is an unusual sight, and a peaceful one at that: a group of the herd lies huddled closely together in the grassland, with the smallest animal nestled in their midst. The photo was taken by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in a village in the Xiyang community in northeastern China — and it shows the elephants after months of travelling through the country.
What prompted these endangered wild animals to leave their habitat and march northward remains uncertain. According to some experts, the reason likely lies in the fact that conservation efforts in the area have created a good habitat for Asian elephants, enabling their populations to grow. The march may represent a population dispersal, in which conditions allow a group of elephants to move away and seek out new habitats.
The local authorities in the areas visited by the elephants all implemented comprehensive response plans to ensure the safety of both people and elephants. Emergency plans were initiated in both Yuxi city and Kunming city, including 14 drones deployed to continuously monitor the elephants' movements, and emergency clearing vehicles sent to block the surrounding roads leading into villages. Residents were quickly organized to evacuate where necessary, and food was also used to guide the elephants away from urban areas.
Asian elephants are under first-class state protection in China and are classified as endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The wild Asian elephant population in China has risen from 180 in the 1980s to approximately 300 today.
The migration of wild elephants in China has already attracted international attention. Media outlets such as TV Asahi, the BBC, and the New York Times reported on the animals' ongoing journey and analyzed the possible reasons for the migration.
