China's migrating elephant herd moves southwest

Beijing: The herd of 14 wandering wild Asian elephants in China's Yunnan province has now moved southwest and remains in Yuxi city, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The herd advanced 11.1 km southwest from 5 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday, entering Xinping county from Eshan county, according to the headquarters in charge of monitoring their migration.

They entered Eshan County on June 17.

Both Eshan and Xinping are under the jurisdiction of Yuxi city, reports Xinhua news agency.

A male elephant that strayed from the herd a month ago is now 66.7 km away from the group in Hongta district in Yuxi.

The animals have travelled approximately 500 km north from their forest home in southern Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, reaching the provincial capital Kunming on June 2.

Staff from local transportation and electricity departments have joined the on-the-spot monitoring team to keep close watch over key industrial and mining enterprises along the elephants' migration route.

On Monday, 231 people were mobilized to ensure the safety of both the animals and nearby people.

Over 1,700 residents have been evacuated and 2.2 tonnes of food has been provided for the elephants.