150,000 People in China Evacuated to Clear the Way For Escaped Elephants Returning to Reserve

Asian elephant herd.Photo: CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated in southwest China’s Yunnan province to clear a path for a pack of14 escaped Asian elephants.

Wan Yong, who oversees an organization that was tasked with returning the wild animals to the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture nature reserve,told reporterson Monday that in addition to the evacuations, 25,000 police and staff have been employed to make sure the elephants stay on track, according to local news outlet Xinhua.

Police and staff are using vehicles, drones, and 180 tons of food to guide the elephants through the migration, the outlet reported.

Asian elephant herd.Wang Zhengpeng/VCG via Getty

According tothe Associated Press, the herd of elephants crossed the Yuanjiang River on Sunday night, nearly 125 miles away from the reserve.

Over a year ago, the wild animals escaped their nature reserve home. Officials later found the elephants more than 300 miles away from the facility and have spent months trying to get the animals to return to the reserve. The herd has made “significant” progress, and officials believe the elephants will complete the journey soon, a Yunnan government spokesperson told the AP.

Asian elephant herd.VCG/VCG via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Cen Mingyong, an Asian elephant expert, told Xinhua at the time that the incident is the longest-distance migration of wild elephants ever recorded in China. He said it was likely that the herd’s leader “lacks experience and led the whole group astray,” the AP reported.

source: people.com