Lone Asian elephant that left China’s ‘wandering herd’ sent home to reserve

An Asian elephant that strayed from a herd that has been wandering across China’s southern fringes since March 2020, has been sent home. The male pachyderm was captured and returned to its original habitat at Mengyangzi Nature Reserve in Xishuangbanna in the southern province of Yunnan on July 7, 2021. The other elephants in the wandering herd were sighted about 500km (310 miles) from their natural habitat in early July. Chinese authorities have deployed a 300-member team to track and protect the rare Asian elephants, by stopping local people from interfering with their movements or feeding them.