Members of an elephant herd making a 500-kilometer trip through southwestern China have become international stars. The 15-member herd was already receiving wide coverage in China. But now, the group’s long trip is being documented by major media companies and on social media. The elephants are traveling from their home, in a mountainous area of Yunnan province, toward the city of Kunming. YouTube and Twitter are full of video clips showing interesting behavior of the animals as they continue their path across farmland, villages and around cities. One of the most popular clips showed two young elephants being helped out of a ditch by older members of the group. The elephants have also drawn widespread attention on China's Weibo social media service. Pictures of the group sleeping received 25,000 posts and more than 200 million views. The herd has been filmed continuously from the sky by drones and caught on security cameras walking down city streets. The elephants are being followed by individuals seeking to limit damage from the animals and to keep them and people safe. While no animals or people have been hurt during the trip, media reports have estimated crop damage to be more than $1 million. The elephants have invaded farms looking for food and water, visited a car dealership and even showed up at a retirement home. At the home, some elephants attempted to visit rooms, leading one man to hide under his bed. Sixteen animals started out in the group. But the government says two returned home and a baby was born during the walk. Officials in China say they are not sure exactly what persuaded the elephants to make their long trip. They do, however, seem to be drawn to corn, fruits and other tasty crops they find along the way. Some experts say the elephants might have left because their leader might have gotten lost. Asian elephants are loyal to their home areas unless there have major changes to the environment, a loss of resources or development, said Nilanga Jayasinghe, of the World Wildlife Fund.
Title: China’s Traveling Elephants Become International Stars
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/B.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Chinas Traveling Elephants Become International Stars' data-article-id='5685'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='12313'>Members of an elephant herd making a 500-kilometer trip through southwestern China have become international stars.</span> <span data-start-time='12313' data-end-time='19250'>The 15-member herd was already receiving wide coverage in China. </span> <span data-start-time='19250' data-end-time='28875'>But now, the group’s long trip is being documented by major media companies and on social media.</span> <span data-start-time='28875' data-end-time='40042'>The elephants are traveling from their home, in a mountainous area of Yunnan province, toward the city of Kunming.</span> <span data-start-time='40042' data-end-time='56604'>YouTube and Twitter are full of video clips showing interesting behavior of the animals as they continue their path across farmland, villages and around cities. </span> <span data-start-time='56604' data-end-time='66792'>One of the most popular clips showed two young elephants being helped out of a ditch by older members of the group.</span> <span data-start-time='66792' data-end-time='75979'>The elephants have also drawn widespread attention on China's Weibo social media service.</span> <span data-start-time='75979' data-end-time='85938'>Pictures of the group sleeping received 25,000 posts and more than 200 million views.</span> <span data-start-time='85938' data-end-time='97542'>The herd has been filmed continuously from the sky by drones and caught on security cameras walking down city streets. </span> <span data-start-time='97542' data-end-time='109646'>The elephants are being followed by individuals seeking to limit damage from the animals and to keep them and people safe.</span> <span data-start-time='109646' data-end-time='122313'>While no animals or people have been hurt during the trip, media reports have estimated crop damage to be more than $1 million.</span> <span data-start-time='122313' data-end-time='134250'>The elephants have invaded farms looking for food and water, visited a car dealership and even showed up at a retirement home. </span> <span data-start-time='134250' data-end-time='142667'>At the home, some elephants attempted to visit rooms, leading one man to hide under his bed.</span> <span data-start-time='142667' data-end-time='147125'>Sixteen animals started out in the group. </span> <span data-start-time='147125' data-end-time='154438'>But the government says two returned home and a baby was born during the walk.</span> <span data-start-time='154438' data-end-time='163854'>Officials in China say they are not sure exactly what persuaded the elephants to make their long trip. </span> <span data-start-time='163854' data-end-time='173479'>They do, however, seem to be drawn to corn, fruits and other tasty crops they find along the way. </span> <span data-start-time='173479' data-end-time='181292'>Some experts say the elephants might have left because their leader might have gotten lost.</span> <span data-start-time='181292' data-end-time='199396'>Asian elephants are loyal to their home areas unless there have major changes to the environment, a loss of resources or development, said Nilanga Jayasinghe, of the World Wildlife Fund.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/B.jpeg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=17557 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/what_is_a_herd.wav'>What is a herd?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a large group of animals, especially hoofed mammals, that live, feed, or migrate together or are kept together as livestock'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/a_large_group_of_animals_especially_hoofed_mammals_that_live_feed_or_migrate_together_or_are_kept_together_as_livestock.wav'><span>a large group of animals, especially hoofed mammals, that live, feed, or migrate together or are kept together as livestock</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/the_faculty_of_perceiving_sound.wav'><span>the faculty of perceiving sound</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/a_winged_and_feathered_vertebrate_that_is_able_to_fly.wav'><span>a winged and feathered vertebrate that is able to fly</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/constituting_number_three_in_a_sequence.wav'><span>constituting number three in a sequence</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=17558 data-hint-location='154438' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/according_to_officials_in_china_what_exactly_persuaded_the_elephants_to_make_their_long_trip.wav'>According to officials in China, what exactly persuaded the elephants to make their long trip?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='They are not sure'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/they_are_not_sure.wav'><span>They are not sure</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/water.wav'><span>Water</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/magnetic_fields.wav'><span>Magnetic fields</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/seasonal_changes.wav'><span>Seasonal changes</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=17559 data-hint-location='122313' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/the_elephants_have_invaded_farms_looking_for__blank__and_water_visited_a_car_dealership_and_even_showed_up_at_a_retirement_home_.wav'>The elephants have invaded farms looking for <span class='blank'>food</span> and water, visited a car dealership and even showed up at a retirement home. </div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='food'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/food.wav'><span>food</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/sunlight.wav'><span>sunlight</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/friends.wav'><span>friends</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5148/mud.wav'><span>mud</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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