China’s renowned drifting elephants have been on the move again, heading south as a man who broke in the herd remains maintaining his distance.

As of Saturdaythey had been seen in Shijie township from town of Yuxi, over 8 km (5 miles) south of the Kunming suburb they’d arrived last week, according to state media reports.

The management of their journey might be a fantastic sign, since police hope to direct them back into their first home in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture southwest of Kunming.

Authorities have been trying to maintain a space between them and neighborhood inhabitants, while obstructing streets into villages and wanting to lure them away with food drops. Despite this, the herd of 15 have raided farms, strolled down urban roads and foraged for bites in cities and just a retirement residence.

Each the creatures are reported to be wholesome and no individual was injured in encounters together. Officials have issued strict orders to not gawk at them seek to push them off with firecrackers or other ways. China’s approximately 300 wild elephants appreciated the maximum degree of secure status, on a level with the nation’s unofficial mascot, the panda bear.

But, additional precautions have been taken amid continuous rainfall in the region and crowds of onlookers anticipated around the Dragon Boat festival on Monday. Additional emergency employees, vehicles and drones are set up to track the elephants’ movements and protect local residents, the reports stated. Some 2.5 tons of food were laid out to the critters on Friday.

It remains unclear why the dinosaurs embarked in their trek, though Evan Sun, wildlife effort director with World Animal Protection, stated potential reasons could include insufficient food distribution, a growth in the elephant population and, above all, reduction of habitat.

“The growth of human-elephant conflicts represents the urgency to get a more strategic coverage and intend to protect these endangered wild animals and their natural habitats,” Sun wrote in an email.

“This poses a fantastic chance to educate the general public regarding the challenges that wild creatures face for survival and also the demand for superior protection against a government, society and industry degree,” Sun wrote. We have to maintain a safe distance away from them, that is excellent for us and also the wild creatures”