A herd of 15 wild elephants was approaching the city of Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, on Wednesday, defying efforts to reroute them after a journey of a number of hundred miles from forests to the south.
The group of Asian elephants, that includes 3 calves, initially resided in a nature reserve, according to the authorities Xinhua, and has actually travelled for about 300 miles along highways and through fields of crops over the previous months.
They were within a couple of miles of the edges of Kunming, a city of some 8 million, on the afternoon of June 2, according to state tv CCTV.
While it is uncertain why the elephants are moving north, the Xinhua report stated a decrease in edible plants in forest environments has actually put pressure on the animals, whose numbers have actually grown in Yunnan in current years.
Conflicts in between villagers and elephants can become they leave safeguarded locations to go into towns and consume crops. Some 6.8 million yuan ($1.1 million) of damage has actually been triggered by this elephant herd, according to Xinhua.
Local federal governments in Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, have actually utilized obstructions and lots of food to attempt to move the elephants’ course over current weeks, while leaving suburbs.
