Stray male elephant is 12km northeast off the herd

By 11 a.m. of June 9, the migrant elephant herd has moved southwestward in detour instead of going northwest as predicted. They remained active in Shijie Township, central Yunnan’s Yimen county.

The male elephant going astray wandered into a forest in Kunming’s Anning City, and it was around 12 kilometers northeast off the herd. It seems that the herd slowed down their pace to wait for the lost elephant.

It rained hard Tuesday. Local authorities in Anning and Yimen stepped up joint monitoring to prevent possible emergencies, inviting in more elephant monitors from the southern Pu 'er City and Xishuangbanna Prefecture.

775 police officers, 304 emergency vehicles and 16 drones were dispatched to ensure the safety of people and the elephant herd. Given the strayed male elephant, the Jinning and Anning headquarters evacuated residents in the surrounding villages to cut risks.

However, continuous thunderstorms made it difficult to monitor the wild beasts and security risks increased. Luckily, people and elephants were found safe and sound for the time being.

Source: Kunming Times; Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi