(SKY NEWS) – A herd of elephants have trekked 311 miles (500km) through China causing a reported $1m (£709,000) of damage. It is unknown why the 15 grey beasts made the journey – which started at a protected nature reserve – although it is thought a lack of food in an area with elephant populations now increasing may have played a factor.
The animals were most recently seen on the outskirts of Kunming, a city of around seven million people and the capital of Yunnan province – which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, residents have been told not to leave corn or other food outside their homes overnight to attract the elephants.
