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Chinese wanderers remind us of the global threats to elephants
Chinese elephants have PETER FROST worrying about the future for the world’s largest land-based mammal
A migrating herd of elephants rests near the Xinyang Township in the Jinning District of Kunming city of southwestern China's Yunnan Province, on June 7, 2021

CHINA is not famous for its elephants — but the famed wandering herd have been dominating animal media headlines for some while.

The whole herd of 15 animals originally left a wildlife reserve in the south-west of Yunnan province more than a year ago. They trekked over 300 miles (500km) north, arriving at the outskirts of the provincial capital of Kunming.

Last week the elephants were on the move again, heading south-west while a male who broke from the herd is 10 miles (16km) away, still on the outskirts of Kunming.

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