After seventeen months on the road--an epic journey by any standards--China's herd of wandering elephants is headed back home. Fourteen Asian elephants of various age were safely guided across the Yuanjiang river [photo] in Yunnan on Sunday. A path is being made for them to return to their reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The herd is still 125 miles away in Yuanjiang. Chinese people closely watched their progress on social media, which probably has contributed to their safety so far. During the trek in November, a calf was born in Pu’er. The elephants forage freely
en route, causing some property damage including devouring a truck load of pineapples. They have gotten into stores of grains left over from fermentation, leading to reports of at least one drunken elephant. Authorities began supplying them with more than two tons of elephant fodder, and kept the enthralled public from interfering with their progress. A team monitored the herd via drone 24/7, capturing images during their rest periods [photo].
Explanations offered for the elephants' journey vary widely, but the most likely is the one stated by professor of mammal conservation, Zhang Li, at Beijing Normal University, “Large-scale human engineering developments have exacerbated the ‘islanding’ of elephant habitats. The traditional buffer zones between humans and elephants are gradually disappearing, and the chances of elephants’ encountering humans naturally increase greatly.” Elephants are known to migrate along trails that matriarchs memorize to lead their family groups to water and food. Bon voyage on your return, elephants. There is no place like home!
