A herd of 15 baby Asian elephants have achieved worldwide fame after trekking through China for an entire 15 months. And they’re still going!
At the time of writing, these adorable not-so-little creatures have landed 500km away from their natural habitat – believed to be the Mangynagzi Nature Reserve in Xishuangbanna, located in the South-West Yunnan province.
For perspective, this province is close to the northern borders of Burma and Laos.
Chinese authorities have been closely monitoring the migration of these fascinating elephants as they roam through fields, villages and even cities around China.
14 drones have been deployed by local governments to assist with the supervision, while an additional 500 government staff have been sent out to also watch over the herd.
This team has been successful in keeping the herd safe, including from potential road dangers.
The wandering elephants in China are so fascinating to follow. Like living a (much-needed) family holiday vicariously.
As they trek, drones follow them and people are asked to stay out of their way. And a baby 🐘was born during the journey.https://t.co/CN9uJU0nnC https://t.co/Ch83aThSFn
— Kristine Servando (@tinssoldier) June 8, 2021
However, that hasn’t stopped the little ones from causing damage of their own!
Millions of dollars worth of crops have been chewed through by the calves, with several buildings also damaged as the elephants poke their trunks through doors and windows. Ah, bless!
In particular, the popular city of Kunming was visited not too long ago, where the elephants turned into a parade for millions of local residents.
No one really knows why they’re doing all this, though. Some scientists believe the babies are just searching for a new habitat. Others believe they’ve been led astray by an inexperienced leader.
do beavers even know what they’re doing or do they just see water flowing down a river and think “absolutely not”
— katie (@socompliKATIEd) April 9, 2021
Chen Mingyong, an Asian elephant expert, says it’s possible their leader: “lacks experience and led the whole group astray”.
He later confirmed that the incident is the longest-distance migration of wild elephants ever recorded in the country.
Authorities are currently working on steering the herd back southwest, which at the moment is proving more successful than earlier attempts.
At the time of writing, the herd was last spotted taking a nap in a forest near a village in the Xiyang township, following heavy rainfall, which ultimately slowed their journey.
Let’s hope these darlings get back on track first thing tomorrow morning!
