Injured baby elephant abandoned by rogue Chinese herd saved

Injured baby elephant abandoned by rogue Chinese herd saved

A heavily injured baby elephant left behind by a migrating wild herd in southwest China has been rescued, state media reported yesterday, the latest twist in a chaotic odyssey. The herd of Asian elephants has spent months roaming across Yunnan province, travelling more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) from their home nature reserve in one of the longest ever animal migrations of its kind in China. Since setting off last year, the meandering mammals have stolen villagers' food and trampled crops worth over $1 million, with thousands of residents evacuated from their path.

Locals sighted the baby elephant-weighing 180 kilograms and born on the lumbering trek-alone on a tea plantation Saturday morning, struggling with an infected injury on its leg. The elephant's wound could have been life-threatening if authorities hadn't arrived and given treatment, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

"We gave it anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs, because its wound still looks pretty bad," Bao Mingwei, director of the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center, told CCTV, adding that with a longer period of care it should be able to fully recover. "It's possible that something like rattan spines pricked it and the injuries slowly became infected."

State media footage showed around a dozen rescuers