Asian elephant Molly returns to Kunming Zoo

Asian elephant Molly (Screenshot from China Newsweek)

(ECNS) -- Asian elephant Molly arrived at Kunming Zoo in southwest China’s Yunnan Province at 11:56 p.m. on Monday, the zoo said on its official Wechat account Tuesday.

The five-year-old elephant was suspected of being forced to perform for several years and embarked on its journey back to Kunming Zoo with the help of netizens and celebrities.

Preliminary physical check shows the elephant is in good shape, with no malnutrition or obvious trauma, said staff members of the zoo.

More physical examinations will be conducted. 

Molly was born in Kunming Zoo in March 2016 and sent to Swan Lake Ecological Park in Qinyang, central China’s Henan Province, for breeding purposes in 2018.

Related: Supposedly abused Asian elephant on way home to SW China’s Yunnan