In March 2020, a group of 16 strong elephants became international stars because of their starting long northern journey from Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province.
The group did not harm any people or animals during their long march, but caused chaos on farms. In December, a baby elephant was born.
The wild group was seen on CCTV walking down the streets of the city at night and they were also filmed constantly by more than a dozen drones （无人机） —which, the Chinese government said, were helping to minimize damage and keep the animals and people out of danger.
The group had a sudden attack on farms for food and water and even showed up at a care home, where they reached out their trunks into some of the rooms, making one elderly man hide under his bed. Meanwhile, reports said the damage caused to crops totaled more than £700,000.
In April 2021, seventeen animals were originally in the group, but the government said two returned home during the walk.
There were many guesses about the reasons for the migration of the elephants. Some people thought the elephants appeared to be especially attracted by fruit and other crops. Others supposed that the elephants' leader might simply be lost in the rich tropical region, which is home to about 300 other Asian elephants. But, in fact, there was no exact scientific explanation.
In order not to do any harm to the species, farmers and others were told to exercise maximum control when they met with them, while the government had ordered people to stay inside and not use firecrackers or other techniques to frighten them away. Less force was being used to keep them out of the city, like parking cars and some equipment to block roads and using food drops to attract them away.
More than 410 emergency response police, lots of vehicles and 14 drones had been used to monitor the group. Locals were evacuated （疏散）；short-time traffic control measures were carried out, and two tons of elephant food was put in place. Finally, this group of migrating elephants returned to their wild living areas safely under the protection of everyone.
