Wild elephants enjoying their wanders ways

A herd of 15 wild Asian elephants that has captured global attention continue to enjoy their trek in southwest China undisturbed.

It has been 15 months since the herd bid farewell to their original habitat in a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

They have wandered far and wide trekking about 500 kilometers to the outskirts of the provincial capital Kunming – probably one of the longest journeys ever recorded for a herd of elephants in the country.

Everyone keeps a close tab on them, including their guardians back home. The reason they left their leafy habitat, where lush forests seem to touch the sky, remains unknown.

The Wild Elephant Valley, tucked away in the Xishuangbanna national nature reserve, serves as a natural conduit for wildlife, a place frequented by Asian elephants.

The reserve set up an Asian elephant observation and protection team in 2005. The team has nine members, growing from four initially, with the average age being around 32.

Team leader Ai Hanlu is one of the familiar faces for the migrating elephants, as his team tracks them almost on a daily basis. On May 30, the 46-year-old Ai was sent to the city of Yuxi, Yunnan, where the migrating elephants had been resting.

By observing the footprints of the elephants, Ai can roughly estimate where the herd is heading and alert nearby villagers and tourists.

To better preserve the species and avoid possible human-elephant conflicts, Xishuangbanna set up an Asian elephant monitoring and warning center in Menghai County in 2018.

Once the elephants are spotted, Pu Zongxin, 50, will send warning messages to online platforms through his phone, alerting residents in the vicinity to be careful.

Earlier, Pu had to closely follow the elephants so that he can trace the species. Thanks to the use of drones, now he no longer has to spend hours tracking the animals.

"I can roughly tell the places where the elephants have been and the food they ate from their excrement," Pu said.

Pu said that he has noticed changes in the dietary habits of the elephants over the years. The mammals used to feed on sugar cane and corn, but pineapples and dragon fruits planted by local farmers have now become their favorite.

Asian elephants, the continent's largest land animal, are under top-level protection in China. In 1958, the country set up one of its earliest national nature reserves in Xishuangbanna to protect the rare animals.