TIMELINE

April 16: Herd of 17 Asian elephants, which left their habitat in Xishuangbanna and started moving north last year, seen leaving Mojiang county, Pu'er city, and arriving in Yuanjiang county, Yuxi city

April 24: Two of the animals return to Mojiang.

May 16: Early in the morning, the remaining 15 elephants reach Shiping county, Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture.

May 24: At 8 pm, 14 of the 15 elephants reach Eshan county, Yuxi city, and move close to Daweidu village.

Tuesday: The last of the 15 elephants arrives in Daweidu in the afternoon.

Wednesday: The herd enters Shuangjiang subdistrict around 7 pm, only 300 meters from the downtown area of Eshan.

Thursday: The animals move closer to the downtown area.

Friday: Herd enters forests in Eshan.

Saturday: Herd reaches forests in north of the county, making it difficult to observe the animals or follow their traces. Drones used to keep track of the elephants.

Sunday morning: Herd 50 km from Kunming's Jinning district and 100 km from downtown area of the provincial capital.