‘Well deserved rest’: Wandering herd of elephants in China spotted taking a nap

The herd was seen resting near a village in Xiyang township after it was slowed down by heavy rains.

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The herd is now composed of six female and three male adults, three juveniles and three calves, according to official reports.

A herd of wandering elephants, who took social media by storm after they escaped from a natural reserve in China, was recently spotted sleeping in a forest. According to a BBC report, the herd was seen resting near a village in Xiyang township after heavy rains slowed down its travels.

The herd of Asian elephants escaped the natural reserve in Pu’er city in Yunnan province in December last year. Though it is unclear what motivated them to make the epic journey, they have reportedly covered over 500 km.

Among several others, Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kasawan also tweeted the picture of the herd huddling together in slumber. “If anybody wants to see how elephants sleep”, he wrote, while sharing the picture on Twitter.

Take a look here:

If anybody wants to see how elephants sleep. PC BBC. pic.twitter.com/BxZFr9qVtZ

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) June 8, 2021

Pictures and videos which showed the animals walking through farms and cities, crossing roads amid traffic had prompted worry among netizens.

Take a look at some of the reactions here:

Lovely, never imagined this.

— Seema Bhatnagar (@seema591) June 9, 2021

I had never seen elephants sleeping. Thanks a lot. Amazingly calm and peaceful. Beautiful.

— Amit Choudhary (@AMITCHOUDHARY23) June 9, 2021

Oh! a rare sight, that too so many jumbos huddling themselves into a deep sleep . 👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👍🏻

— Atthi Devarajan (@AtthiDevarajan) June 8, 2021

Look at the little ones lying inside the protective circle of the elders 😊

— Geetha Rani Ezhilkumar🇮🇳 (@EzhilkumarRani) June 9, 2021

Wow! What an amazing ‘sleeping’ sight. Had never ever seen Elephants sleeping like that and that too in the wild. Thanks for sharing🙏

— Prasanna R Coondapur (@prax3) June 8, 2021

Aww sleeping beauties 😍😍

— raheela khan (@RaheelaPsyche) June 9, 2021

They sleep in pyramid shape!! Fix into each other like a jigsaw puzzle 🥰🤩

— shalina (: (@I_Shalina) June 9, 2021

So beautiful 😍

— Gitanjali (@Gitanjali__6) June 8, 2021

Utterly beautiful

— Mirza Yawar Baig (@myawarbaig) June 8, 2021

In their sleeping position they have kept security of small one at priority. Most secured. 😊

— India First 🇮🇳 (@Khushboosinha19) June 9, 2021

Woke up to see this ❤

— Dharma Chandru (@dharmachandru) June 9, 2021

Just wow relaxing so beautifully family togetherness

— Nisha rai (@nisharai_ggc) June 8, 2021

Never knew elephants could be my spirit animal.
Eat sleep repeat.

— Kinjal (@Kinjalpp96) June 8, 2021

Though earlier efforts to steer the animals failed, the government has now deployed 14 drones and some 500 people to keep the herd safe. It has also closed roads and tried to steer the elephants towards the south-west as per BBC, CGTN reported.

Sixteen animals were originally in the group, but the government says two returned home and a baby was born during the walk, news agency AP reported. The herd now comprises six female and three male adults, three juveniles and three calves, according to official reports.

After raiding farms for food and water, with no causalities on animals or people, reports put damage to crops at more than $1 million, AP reported.