A herd of gentle giants, lumbering across China's far south-western province Yunnan, appear to be finally heading home after travelling more than 500 kilometres from their habitat.
Aerial photo taken on June 6, 2021 shows wild Asian elephants in Jinning District of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo: AFP / Xinhua
For more than a year, 16 wild Asian elephants have trekked through farms and villages, forcing thousands of local residents to evacuate and causing up to US$1.2 million worth of damage.
Their odyssey has captivated the nation for months and the hype shows no sign of waning.
Worn-out soles in search for giants
The elephants became an overnight internet sensation earlier this year and have been dominating people's daily conversations in China.
Millions of Chinese have expressed their fondness towards the herd online, with some watching the animals eating, napping and showering through 24/7 live streams and daily updates from state media.
Lam Liu, who grew up in Yunnan, was checking the herd's whereabouts on social media almost every day.
He said he was always interested in wildlife growing up, but couldn't believe what was happening in his hometown could make such an impact.
"This has never happened before," he told the ABC.
"It's unprecedented to see such media coverage about nature and the environment in China.
"These elephants absolutely ignited the social media … even my grandparents knew about them."
A drone image shows 14 Asian elephants sleeping together in a patch of forest on the outskirts of southwest China's Kunming, Yunnan Province. Photo: AFP / Xinhua
Such audience interest drove many vloggers and even reporters from across the country to track them down in a bid to capture them on camera.
Chinese reporter Qipeng Huang said in his vlog diary, called Chasing the Elephants, that he had to sleep in his car, enduring the heat - which gave him sunburn and melted his chocolates - to get a glimpse of the giants.
He finally spotted them near a river after chasing them for 12 days.
"These elephants are playing and eating by the river," he said excitedly in the vlog.
"We are keeping our distance, so we won't disturb them."
Another reporter said in the vlog that the soles of his shoes were worn out after days of walking and mountain climbing to track the elephants.
Aerial photo taken on 28 May 2021 shows a herd of wild Asian elephants in Eshan County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo: AFP / Xinhua
Where have the elephants been?
The herd reportedly left their habitat in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in March last year, a tropical area bordering Myanmar and Laos, and headed north.
There are roughly 300 Asian elephants living in Yunnan and they are an endangered species.
This week, an injured baby elephant, who was born on the trek, was rescued after locals spotted the calf alone on a tea plantation, Agence France-Presse reported.
An infected wound on its leg could have been life-threatening without treatment, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Last week, a male 10-year-old elephant that strayed from the herd a month ago was anaesthetised and returned to the nature reserve.
Another member of the herd was returned earlier this year.
However, the remaining elephants are still nowhere near home. At least one calf was born during the walk.
Hundreds of people and dozens of drones and trucks from the local authorities were deployed to monitor and guide the elephants.
On Wednesday, state media reported that they have started heading southbound, moving about 10km to the southeast, and are currently roaming south of the capital city Kunming.
Earlier, they were reaching the outskirts of Kunming, a city of 8.4 million, sparking fears of conflict between humans and the wild animals.
But no injuries have been reported yet.
A drone is prepared to monitor the migrating wild Asian elephants in Eshan County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo: AFP / Xinhua
Conservationists still baffled by unprecedented odyssey
Last week, Yunnan locals were warned about poisonous mushrooms during the wet season, after people were reportedly taken to hospital with food poisoning.
The topic "Will elephants eat the poisonous mushrooms" was soon trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo, and was viewed 120 million times with thousands of comments.
That led conservationists to come out and allay the public's fears, saying these elephants are very capable of distinguishing poisonous mushrooms.
While it's not uncommon for Asian elephants to migrate, it's still unclear what prompted the elephants to leave the original habitat in the first place and how long they can keep moving.
But their journey and the mammoth media coverage spotlighted biodiversity and conservation challenges in the area.
The population of wild Asian elephants in China has almost doubled since the 1990s, but suitable habitats have also dwindled by 40 percent in the past two decades, according to Li Zhang, an ecology expert from Beijing Normal University.
"What cannot be ignored is the grim reality of the loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat caused by the rapid development of local economy," Professor Li said in a post on Weibo.
Others think the growing number of the elephants and their closeness to humans may have encouraged the road trip.
"The reserve is only an area subjectively delineated by humans," Fei Chen from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration told the Chinese newspaper the Economic Daily.
"For Asian elephants, they will tread wherever the food is for survival as a habitat."
Elephants, part of a herd which had wandered 500km north from their natural habitat, resting near Yuxi city, in China's southwest Yunnan province Photo: AFP / Xinhua
What about 'elephant diplomacy'?
The wandering elephants and the nation's bizarre obsession with them have made international headlines.
Apart from enjoying the cute photos and amusing videos, some social media users pointed out that the elephant narrative may have helped soften China's "wolf warrior" image.
The Chinese government has been grappling with Western media coverage about human right abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as the investigation into the origin of Covid-19.
An editorial by the state-run tabloid Global Times praised the elephants, saying "an image of a real and caring China is emerging".
"China's care for wandering elephants mirrors adorable national image the West can't distort," the editorial read.
President Xi Jinping said in a speech in May that he wanted a "loveable" image for China and to "expand its circle of friends".
Pichamon Yeophantong, a China expert from UNSW Canberra, has been following the unfolding story of the elephants.
She said although the story might be politicised as China's "elephant diplomacy", it won't revamp China's global image in any meaningful way.
"Even if they were systematically trying to, I don't think the Chinese media can convincingly leverage this story to meet political ends," she told the ABC.
"Rather than 'elephant diplomacy' that softens China's so-called 'wolf warrior' image in certain parts of the world, I think the elephants' story is being more effectively told and rightly harnessed by conservationists and experts to raise much-needed awareness on the future of China's Asian elephants."
She said conservationists had also drawn on the elephants to stress the importance of environmental protection ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming.
- ABC
