Wild elephant herd causes chaos near Chinese city

A herd of 15 wild elephants is causing chaos in an urban area in southwest China, trampling crops and damaging buildings.

The animals have trekked 500 kilometres since leaving their home – a nature reserve in Yunnan’s mountainous southwest – last spring. No one knows why they have made the journey or where they are going next.

Authorities are trying to keep the elephants out of the major city of Kunming by forming a barricade with heavy trucks.

So far, the herd has cause more than $1 million worth of crop damage, but no one has been injured.