By Rachael Bunyan For Mailonline. China's famous herd of wandering elephants have stopped for a well-earned rest after a record mile trek across the country following their escape from a nature reserve. The strong group of wild Asian elephants has been wandering towards the city of Kunming, in Yunnan province, since April 16 when they broke out of a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai prefecture. They are now in the countryside in the Xinyang Township, around 55 miles south-west of Kunming, and were spotted looking exhausted as the group lay down in a forest with their legs and trunks sprawled out over the ground.
The herd appear to be sleeping in a pyramid shape as one baby elephant can be seen clinging onto an adult's leg whilst one rests its trunk on another. The elephants have come as close as two miles from the southern-most suburbs of regional capital Kunming, sparking fears they could enter the city and cause chaos. The migrating herd of wild Asian elephants look exhausted as the group lay down together in a forest, with their legs and trunks sprawled out over the ground.
A baby elephant looks content as it rests its front legs on the back of another sleeping elephant in the forest on Monday. A baby elephant is seen sprawled on the back of a sleeping elephant as the animals rest after their mile trek on Monday.
The elephants can be seen sleeping in two separate groups as they lay sprawled on the grass after their exhausting journey. Nap time! An elephant sleeps with its herd after walking miles across China in a forest near the Xinyang Township.
Roads have been blocked using lorries while 18 tons of pineapples and corn have been scattered in an attempt to lead the elephants away from the city's Jinning district. During their epic journey, the elephants have been caught at night trotting down urban streets by security cameras, filmed constantly from the air by more than a dozen drones and followed by those seeking to minimise damage and keep both pachyderms and people out of harm's way. But the wild animals caused have caused mayhem by walking down urban roads and sticking their trunks through residential windows in Kunming, despite officials' efforts to divert them away from the populated southwestern city of seven million people.
