Runaway elephant from wandering herd in China recaptured and returned to the wild
- The elephant has travelled more than 190km on its own for the last 32 days, relying on food prepared by local governments or going into villagers’ homes to feast
- The lone animal is a 10-year-old adult male, about 1.9 metres tall and weighing 1.8 tonnes
A runaway elephant that was part of a herd trekking 500km north in the past few months has been captured and returned to its original habitat in Mengyangzi Nature Reserve, southern Yunnan province.
The elephant has travelled more than 190km on its own for the last 32 days, relying on food prepared by local governments or going into villagers’ homes to feast, an official notice from the Yunnan provincial government said on Wednesday night.
“Since Monday, the elephant has entered a community in Yuxi city, only 300 metres from the Jinhong Highway and 200 metres from the Kunyu intercity rail, posing a high risk for public security,” the notice said.
02:03
Lone Asian elephant that left China’s ‘wandering herd’ sent home to reserve
To ensure the safety of both the elephant and the public, authorities anaesthetised the elephant and captured it. It was returned to Mengyangzi on Wednesday afternoon.