Read at 3 different speeds

Travelling elephants - 25th June 2021

A family of elephants is making an unusual journey through south west China.

They’ve entered villages and destroyed farm buildings. The damage has cost more than a million dollars. They’ve drunk an entire tank of water and eaten a whole cornfield.

The wild Asian elephants are protected in China. They live in a national nature reserve in Yunnan Province. But in 6 weeks, these elephants have travelled 500 kilometres.

This is unusual behaviour. Nobody has any idea where they are going. People think the leader is lost and the others are following them.

The police are using cameras to track the elephants. They are working to keep the public safe, but people feel scared. They’re using trucks to block the roads and food to change the elephants’ direction.

Yunnan Province is home to 300 wild elephants. It’s normal to see animals in the villages sometimes. But a whole family travelling is strange.