The herd of wild elephants roaming parts of China's southwestern Yunnan Province entered Kunming City's Jinning District late this week, according to Xinhua News Agency.

At around 8 p.m. June 2, the 15 elephants traveling north reached the border between Yuxi City and Kunming, Yunnan's provincial capital. Instead of crossing the border into Kunming, they turned northwest and entered Yuxi City. However, the herd continued to move northward and eventually entered Kunming's Jinning District.

Provincial authorities have developed a new response plan to ensure the safety of both humans and elephants.

Kunming City and Jining District established a contingency plan. Twelve unmanned aircraft were used to continuously monitor the elephants' movements, emergency mucking trucks were dispatched to block surrounding roads into the village, residents were quickly organized to evacuate, and food was used to divert the elephants away from urban areas. Yuxi City has continued to strengthen monitoring to prevent the elephants from returning.

The 15 wild Asian elephants began their journey north from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan's southernmost region, passing through several counties and occasionally wandering into villages and towns.

The herd is made up of six female adult elephants, three male adults, three sub-adults and three cubs, according to monitoring images.

The herd is still on the move and has traveled nearly 500 kilometers.

What caused these endangered animals to flee their natural habitat and migrate north remains a mystery. According to the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Bureau, increased environmental protection measures have increased forest canopy density and coverage rate in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

Woody plants that are not edible have gradually replaced undergrowth vegetation, such as plantains, which are one of their favorite foods. Some researchers believe that a lack of plants to feed on was one of the factors that forced the herd to leave their protected areas.

Asian elephants are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species and have first-class national protection in China. China's wild Asian elephant population has been growing. In the 1980s, there were only 193 wild Asian elephants.