Elephant Herd Safely Crosses the Road
An elephant herd, consisting of 11 wild elephants, was scattered in panic as they crossed the road due to a suddenly speeding motorcycle. Just as the enraged elephants were about to attack pedestrians and vehicles passing by, eight public security police officers arrived at the scene, swiftly implementing a road closure and successfully escorting the elephant herd across the road into the forest. Yesterday afternoon, this dramatic scene unfolded at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic area on the old section of National Highway 213.
At 5:30 PM, Mr. Liu Song, a witness, was riding his motorcycle from Jinghong's Guanping to Mengyang Town via the old section of National Highway 213. When he reached a point 800 meters south of the Wild Elephant Valley's southern entrance, he was abruptly stopped by several members of the Wild Elephant Tracking and Protection Team who informed him that an elephant herd in the woods was preparing to cross the road. Subsequently, the staff called the police station for assistance.
At 5:40 PM, four police officers from the Mengyang Police Station of Jinghong Public Security Bureau and the Mengyang Nature Reserve Police Station of Xishuangbanna Forest Public Security Bureau successively arrived at the scene. They immediately implemented traffic control on the section and evacuated all pedestrians and vehicles to a distance of 30 meters away.
The elephant herd, which had been anxiously waiting in the woods beside the road, moved onto the road once it became quiet. Unexpectedly, a sudden roar disrupted the scene as a motorcycle speeding from the Jinghong direction failed to brake in time and crashed into the elephant herd. The motorcycle narrowly passed behind three leading elephants, causing them to rush across the road and flee into the woods. Meanwhile, the remaining eight elephants, startled, retreated to the roadside, emitting loud roars and making aggressive gestures towards the offending motorcycle. In a critical moment, the on-site traffic controllers quickly intervened, removing the motorcyclist from the scene while dispersing the crowd to a safe distance of 300 meters away.
At 6:30 PM, after confirming the absence of danger through communication with the three elephants that had already crossed the road, the elephant herd cautiously approached the road again. A large female elephant led the group, crossing the road three times to ensure safety. Once she confirmed no interference from vehicles or pedestrians, she gave a brief call, prompting the seven following elephants to swiftly cross the road, reuniting with the three elephants ahead and disappearing into the jungle.
At 7:02 PM, after being closed for over an hour, the road finally resumed normal passage.
Chief Reporter Dai Zhenhua, Correspondents Wei Li and Yan Wenjiao reported with photographs (Spring City Evening News).