A wandering herd of 15 elephants have been journeying in southwestern China's Kunming, Yunnan Province as local authorities try to keep them away from populated areas.
The elephants entered Kunming's Jinning District, a rural suburb, on Wednesday night after traveling 500 kilometers (300 miles) and have not left the area ever since, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Local authorities have deployed a task force of more than 630 people, 106 vehicles and 14 drones to monitor the elephants, according to CCTV.
The elephants, looking in good health in images and videos, have been seen roaming through farmland and villages.
They have not harmed any human beings, but media reports say the elephants have damaged or destroyed more than $1 million worth of crops.
Meanwhile, another elephant herd of 17 wild elephants in south Yunnan Province were reported to be traveling too.
The herd, with 11 adults, four juveniles and two calves, were spotted in the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Mengla County in Yunnan Province during their journey to the south this February.
They were seen entering the botanical reserve again on May 24 on their way back to their home in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, a few kilometers away.
So far, the elephants have been in the reserve for more than 10 days.
They are stranded there because they have been unable to cross the river and leave due to the rising water level in the summer, according to CCTV.
They broke into a crop protection and cultivation base and damaged some facilities on Wednesday.
More than 130,000 types of plants, among them are 1,350 endangered species, are at risks of being destroyed by the elephants, state newspapers China Daily said.
Local authorities are also monitoring this elephant herd and trying to prevent plants in the botanical garden from being destroyed.
