China: Escaped elephants are waiting for the next

Beijing, China | A herd of elephants captivated by China notices a forced stop while waiting for one of its congeners, pulling its leg and is now 14 kilometers from the rest of the group.

• Read also: Elephants on a journey in China

The 15 elephants, including three baby elephants, have already traveled more than 500 km in the southwest of the country, having left their reserves in Xishuangbana, an area bordering Laos and Burma, at the beginning of the year.

Traveling keeps China in check, as its national television, CCTV, broadcasts live online the actions of the herd, 24 hours a day.

However, at the beginning of the month a young man of about ten years left the rest of the forces and became more and more distant from them. So much so that the females of the herd have slowed their advance in recent days, with a cut-off near a village 90 kilometers south of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, according to CCTV.

Yunnan University professor Chen Mingyong told Caixin’s website that the elephants tried to call out to the extremist with their roaring trunks.

But the latecomer did not speed up his race. Young males usually leave the herd to live on their own when they reach sexual maturity.

The elephants’ march is constantly monitored by drones and hundreds of officials intervene to evacuate residents on their way. Thousands of people have already had to leave their homes as a precaution.

The animals appeared to be in good health and no one was harmed when they ventured into town, cross highways, and visit barns and homes in search of food.

The damage to agriculture due to their trip has already been estimated at around 1 million euros.

While the rainy season makes walking difficult, experts reported in the Global Times on Tuesday that mushrooms should not return to their lands before winter.

Meanwhile, Peking University biologist Normal Zhang Li told the newspaper that “the best is to find a habitat that is more suitable for them, away from the population, and lure them there.”

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