Wild Asian elephants have been migrating northward in China's southwest province of Yunnan, while damaging houses and farm crops, state-run media reported Monday.
The 15 elephants are currently less than 50 kilometers away from Yunnan's capital of Kunming, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Animal experts said they may have left their sanctuary in the province due largely to a lack of food.
Local authorities said it is rare for the giant animals to move so far northward from their traditional habitat. They have taken measures to prevent human-elephant conflict as the elephants may well stray into human settlements, according to Xinhua.
Since 1958, Yunnan has established 11 national or regional-level nature reserves in the tropics, covering a total area of about 510,000 hectares. The reserves protect the Asian elephants, with their population totaling around 300, the news agency said.
Other state-run media reported the elephants, which have already wandered nearly 400 km, ate corn at a house and drank water at a car sales shop. One of them got separated from the herd after drinking alcohol, some people said.
