Wild elephant controlled after entering SW China city

KUNMING -- A wild Asian elephant was transported to a breeding and rescue center in Southwest China's Yunnan province Monday after being anaesthetized near a city park.

This was the first anaesthetization of a healthy adult Asian elephant in China.

The elephant entered Simao district of Pu'er city Saturday night, strolling on the city streets, and did some damage before leaving on Sunday morning. It entered the district again later, wandering in a suburban park and even attempting to enter nearby houses.

Forestry workers blocked roads and evacuated people before anaesthetizing the elephant and taking it to the China Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna.

Bao Mingwei, a vet with the center, said the elephant had a medical checkup upon arriving Monday morning and was in good health.

At 2.2 meters high, the elephant weighs more than 2 tonnes and is between 12 to 15 years old, Bao said.

The center will check its health and temperament before releasing it back to the forest, he said.

Chen Mingyong, head of the Asian elephant research center at Yunnan University, said the intrusion had little to do with food and was more like aimless wandering.

Forest police warned the public to keep a safe distance from the wild elephants as they can cause a lot of damage if they get riled.

Asian elephants are under first-class national protection. China has about 300 of them, mostly in Yunnan, a significant increase from around 170 in the 1990s.