A herd of elephants roaming in China on their way home

The advance of an elephant herd in southwest China’s Yunnan Province has baffled experts and made headlines around the world. But now, after much effort and trouble, it seems the herd is back home again.

On Sunday, the 14 elephants crossed the Yuanjiang River in Yunnan Province with a view south. There are still about 200 kilometers left before they return to the nature reserve near the border with Laos, but they once left, but according to the authorities, the herd is now a “proper habitat”.

Caused serious damage

The rescue operation to bring back the migratory elephants, who have been traveling for almost 17 months, has not been easy at all.

During their 130-kilometre journey, they roamed cities, villages, and fields and caused great destruction. Buildings were destroyed and millions of crops were eaten along the way. Corn, pineapple, and bananas have been touted as favorite foods.

Two calves were also born during the trip, according to local authorities. One was found injured and taken to an elephant care center.

150,000 people have been evacuated

Throughout the flight, the flock was guarded by drones. In this way, the authorities were able to warn the residents of the villages they were heading to and urged them to stay indoors. But sometimes that wasn’t enough. A government official said more than 150,000 people had been forced to evacuate since the increase began. BBC.

To make the now known herd move in the right direction to the south, vehicles were placed across the roads. The elephants were also lured with about 180 tons of food along the journey.

It is still unclear why the elephants left the nature reserve and began walking north. Some experts have suggested that an inexperienced leader may have directed them the wrong way, while others explain the behavior by searching for a new habitat due to a lack of resources.