Elephant ‘food court’ built in southwestern China to encourage wild herds not to stray

A centre providing food for Asian elephants has been built in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan to try and encourage the endangered animals not to stray far from home. The Jinghong Food Base for Wild Asian Elephants was a response to the widely followed story of a herd that went on a 500km (300-mile) journey that lasted for months starting in December 2020. The group of at least 15 elephants caused headaches along the way, raiding farms and shops along their way including in areas near the provincial capital Kunming where they ended up in June. The 67 hectare (165 acre) “food court” has been stocked with 38,000 banana trees and saltwater ponds built for the animals. Organisers hope the facility will be more attractive than crops in nearby villages.