Elephant patrol marches on

Last year, a herd of elephants set out from their natural habitat in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

Heading north, they passed through the cities of Pu'er, Honghe and Yuxi. In June, they eventually reached the outskirts of Kunming, the provincial capital, which has about 8 million residents.

The herd started the journey with 16 individuals, but three of them dropped out, while two calves were born en route. In June, a bull elephant broke away from the group and wandered off on his own.

Late last month, the bull was sedated with a tranquilizer dart, lifted in a cage onto the back of a truck and returned to the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

Now, the "tour group", comprising 14 members, is still wandering around the mountains of Yuxi city.