A herd of roaming elephants in China is finally heading home | China

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After an epic 17-month journey that made international headlines, it appears that the famous herd of roaming elephants in China has finally returned home.

The 14 Asian elephants of various sizes and ages were led across the Yuanjiang River in Yunnan Sunday night, and made their way back to the nature reserve in Xishuangbana Dai Autonomous Prefecture, the Associated Press reported.

As of Sunday night, the herd was still in Yuanjiang Prefecture, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the reserve.

The return of the elephants completes a journey of more than 500 km that captured the country. A highlight of their trip was the birth of a calf in Boyer in November. It caused damages of more than 6.8 million yuan ($1.07 million), according to estimates by state broadcaster CGTN; And spread out quickly to take a nap.

In June, drone footage showed the herd sleeping in a forest outside a village in the town of Xiyang. When they started moving again, more than 410 emergency personnel, 374 vehicles and 14 drones were deployed with more than two tons of elephant food.

A herd of elephants traveling through China takes a nap – video

The elephants were also monitored and kept away from residential areas by a team of eight people, who tracked them on the ground and by drone 24 hours a day.

Local wildlife experts were unable to determine why the herd decided to move. But Zhang Li, professor of mammal conservation at Peking Normal University, told the state-run Global Times in June that “large-scale human engineering advances have exacerbated ‘island-settling’ in elephant habitats.”

This means that “the traditional buffer zones between humans and elephants are gradually disappearing, and elephants’ chances of encountering humans naturally increase,” he said.

The 14 elephants of various sizes and ages were led across the Yuanjiang River in Yunnan Province on Sunday night and a route is opened for them to return to the nature reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Photo: AP

Not everyone welcomed the behavior of the tourists, with some locals complaining that the elephants ate whole fields of corn and trucks loaded with pineapples. A car dealer in Ishaan County reported in June that six visiting elephants drank two tons of water in his shop.

Others watched the news for incidents that might pose a threat to animals. In July, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Greek authorities had warned local residents to avoid growing poisonous mushrooms during the rainy season. The topic “Will elephants eat poisonous mushrooms” soon started trending on Weibo, where it was eventually viewed more than 120 million times.

Elephants have also been used as government propaganda, starring in an editorial published by the Global Times titled “China’s Care for Roaming Elephants Reflects the Brilliant National Image That the West Cannot Distort”.

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