There were initially 16 elephants in the herd, which left their nature reserve in 2020 to wander in nearby counties of Pu’er City. One adult elephant dropped out and two were born in the journey.
Officials became alert in April 2021 when the 17-member herd arrived in Yuanjiang County of Yuxi City. Another two adults left the herd for home while the rest continued to travel north. They came upon Eshan and walked the streets for six hours after authorities evacuated pedestrians (疏散行人) and vehicles and warned residents to stay indoors.
Later, the endangered animals were seen in the Hongta District of Yuxi, where authorities established an on-site command center to monitor their movements 24 hours a day and prevent them from entering populous (人口稠密的) areas by creating barriers and using food as bait (诱饵). Over 360 people, 76 police cars, dirt trucks and nine drones were called out, and 18 tonnes of elephant food were prepared.
Chen Mingyong, an Asian elephant expert in Yunnan University, said: “Migration of Asian elephants is common, but it usually happens among several habitats in a certain area. It was the first time that China had recorded such a long-distance northward migration of wild elephants.”
“We can’t tell what their destination is,” he said, suggesting that the migration might not even have a destination. “It is possible that the chief of the herd lacks experience and led the whole group to a wrong path.”
“Up to now, the giant creatures have resulted in 412 cases, damaging 56 hectares of farmland in the counties of Yuanjiang and Shiping alone, causing direct economic losses of about 6. 8 million yuan.”
“For these 15 elephants, all we can do at present is to issue early warnings and evacuate residents in time to decrease losses.” said Chen.
12. Which of the following was not a measure taken by authorities?
A.Monitoring the elephants all day initially. |
B.Warning residents not to go out. |
C.Setting up an on-site command center. |
D.Preparing food for the elephants. |
13. What can we learn about the migration of the traveling elephants?
A.It happened between their habitats. |
B.It was a new long-distance record in China. |
C.It led the whole group to being lost. |
D.It caused few economic losses. |
14. Why were pedestrians and vehicles evacuated?
A.To reduce losses. | B.To offer the elephants a habitat. |
C.To let elephants go home. | D.To guarantee the elephants rest. |
15. What is the best title for the text?
A.A Time-consuming Journey | B.Annoying Elephants |
C.An Aimless Elephants’ Journey | D.Watching out for Elephants |