China villager detained over shooting death of wild elephant

KUNMING - A villager in southwest China's Yunnan Province was detained for killing a pregnant wild Asian elephant that intruded into his home, the local government said Tuesday.

The villager, surnamed Wang, allegedly opened fire on a group of intruding wild elephants with a homemade gun early on Sunday, the press office of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture said in a statement.

One female elephant was later found dead in Wang's fish pond, with a bullet in its head. It was carrying a male calf and was about to give birth soon, the document said.

Wang told police he had yelled hoping to scare the elephants away, but of no avail.

The document did not say what penalties Wang might face.

Wild Asian elephants are an endangered species under protection by the Chinese government. About 250 to 300 are roaming in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, Puer and Lincang.

But wild elephants often intrude villages, damage crops and even attack humans. This year alone, three people died after being attacked by wild elephants, and several others were injured, the local forestry department said.