20 | Friday, June 11, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | DAILY ECO

Appetizing crops on a farm by the roadside prove too tempting for some members of the elephant herd as they move through the town of Shuanghe in Jinning , on the outskirts of , on June 4. Xinhua A road trip like no other

By Yang Wanli track elephants round the [email protected] clock. The Asian elephant, which They’ve trekked 500 kilo- is listed on the International meters from the southern Union for Conservation of fringes of Yunnan province seemingly tired of the north- Nature Red List of Threaten- and along the way they’ve ward expedition and stayed ed Species as endangered, captivated the people of Chi- behind in the Anning dis- enjoys Class-A protection in na and beyond. The herd of trict on Kunming’s outskirts. China — the same level as wild Asian elephants that The rest moved on without the giant panda. have made their way north- him to Yimen county in the Yunnan is the sole habitat ward to the approaches of city of on Wednesday. of wild Asian elephants in Kunming now have their During their extraordina- China. Due to determined every move watched — by ry march, no injuries have protection efforts in recent forestry officials and legions been reported among the decades, their numbers of social media users. herd as authorities marshal have risen from about 170 in It all began late last year extraordinary resources to the 1970s to around 300, when 17 elephants left their monitor them and keep according to the Yunnan The footsore elephants make their way along a mountain trail between two villages in Kunming’s Jinning natural habitat in the Xishu- them away from residential Provincial Forestry and district on Tuesday. Provided to China Daily angbanna Dai autonomous areas. Grassland Administration. prefecture, in Yunnan’s Local authorities in the The province has estab- south. Of the 17, two ele- places visited by the ele- lished 11 nature reserves phants gave the group’s trav- phants have carried out com- covering about 510,000 hec- el plans a rethink after prehensive response plans to tares. The number of coun- stumbling upon some alco- ensure the safety of both ties with Asian elephants in hol in a village and returned humans and the elephants. Yunnan has risen from sev- to the herd’s old habitat. Lat- Forest fire brigade and pub- en in 2017 to eight. Last year, er, another male also left. lic security departments at 7,500 hectares were trans- On Sunday afternoon, the provincial and township formed into new habitat for another member of the herd levels have sent teams to the animals.

A fire engine makes for an impromptu watering hole for the herd as they keep on the move in the town of Shuanghe in Kunming’s Jinning district on June 3. Xinhua

Support workers operate drones to monitor the movements of the herd on Saturday. Heavy storms hit parts of Yunnan around that time. Xinhua

Emergency personnel have been brought in to support the monitoring operations, including this driver who shows a photo of the elephants taken during one of Members of the herd take time out for a nap in the Jinning district of Kunming on Monday. these missions on June 4. Liu Ranyang / China News Service Provided by YUNNAN FOREST FIRE BRIGADE