A 500-kilometer journey toward the north! Two years ago 15 wild Asian elephants left their home in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province. Since then they have kept going north, moving through fields and towns.
People wonder why the elephants are on the move and where they are heading to. Someone suggested that the elephants need more space and food or they are losing their home. Another idea suggests that a change in Earth's magnetic field (磁场) has made the elephants think that they should move.
Along their journey, the elephants have hurt 561, 333 square meters of farms and cost nearly 6.8 million yuan.
The government is trying to protect the safety of both humans and the elephants. They have fed the elephants much food in order to guide them away from city areas. They have also watched the group's journey carefully and asked people not to get close to joke or scare the elephants. Some have suggested drugging (打麻药) the elephants and taking them back home. But scientists say this is a bad idea. "One possible way is to use friendly ways to change the elephants direction (方向) or lead the animals back to their home with food." said Chen Mingyong a teacher at Yunnan University.
Saving the Asian elephant
The Asian elephant is the largest land animal in Asia. These endangered animals are under Class-A protection in China. The elephants usually stand at 5 to 6 meters and weigh 3 to 5 tons. They are fierce animals and sometimes hurt people.
Yunnan is the only home for wild Asian elephants in China. The province has built 11 nature reserves (保护区). The population of the Asian elephant in China has risen from 170 in the 1970s to 300 today.
