China: After resting for a day in a patch of forest on the outskirts of the city of Kunming in southwest China, a roaming herd of 15 wild elephants is on the move again resuming a year-long, 500-kilometer trek that has caught the public’s imagination.
On Monday, drone photographs taken by the provincial forest fire unit recorded members of the herd sleeping in a clearing in the middle of a forest in the district of Jinning, which has been hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms. According to state broadcaster CCTV, the elephants began moving again on Tuesday morning, indicating a fresh round of activity by authorities.
In the midst of fears that the elephants could trespass upon human settlements, tracking teams are currently working around the clock to monitor their movements. More than 400 emergency response personnel have also been stationed.
The director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration’s Asian Elephant Research Centre, Chen Fei, said they were patrolling closely to see if the herd continues its northward trajectory, and would evacuate villages if necessary. More than a year ago, the herd began its journey northwards, traveling from a designated elephant protection zone in Xishuangbanna, near China’s border with Myanmar.
The area available for China’s last surviving native elephant community has gradually shrunk over the years, with the tropical forests of Xishuangbanna replaced with banana, tea or rubber plantations or used to plant profitable raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine.
The authorities reported that it is unclear what urged the herd to head north, but conservation efforts in Yunnan over the past decade have seen elephant numbers multiply, putting land and resources under increasing pressure.
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