A wild elephant, already famous for damaging 14 cars on a highway in southwest China's Yunnan two days ago, took another stroll on the same road on Sunday, and crushed four more cars.
The elephant, nicknamed Zhusunya (Bamboo Shoot Teeth), spent a "playful" hour on the G213 national highway that links Yunnan with northwest China's Gansu Province Sunday afternoon, the local elephant reserve told Xinhua. Four private vehicles parked on the roadside were damaged.
The incident, in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, occurred about 300 meters away from the southern gate of Yexianggu (Wild Elephant Valley).
Bamboo Shoot Teeth, a lone male elephant, may have been angry over a lost fight for mate, workers said. Yexianggu and their insurance company will offer compensation to the owners of the cars.
Wild elephants have been active since the beginning of the dry season. During Spring Festival holiday, tourists have seen wild elephants wandering in the area every day.
In addition to damaging cars parked on the roadside, elephants from the reserve occasionally occupy the highway toll station. Then reserve has passageways for elephants on nearby roads. Staff said it was a rare occurrence for an elephant to stray onto the main road.
Wild Asian elephants are a level one nationally protected species in China, with less than 300 in the country.
