A group of 30 wild Asian elephants have been spotted¹ in a nature reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

 

云南省某自然保护区发现一群野生亚洲象，数量为30头。
 

 

Of the group, nine were calves², with three under one year old, according to a wild elephant observation and protection team based in the Wild Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

 

They were spotted Friday in the valley, which boasts sufficient water and plants and is a natural passage for a variety of animals.

 

This group of elephants is likely to have come to forage³ for minerals. A group of more than 50 were spotted in the same valley in early March. It is rare to see them in such large numbers in this season.

 

Wild Asian elephants, with a population of about 300 in China, are under Class A protection. In China, they are mainly scattered⁴ in southern Yunnan.

 

With stronger environmental and wildlife protection efforts, the number of wild Asian elephants in China has grown in recent years.

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