China's viral elephant herd take a nap after trekking 500km across country

A herd of migrating wild elephants that have gone viral were spotted taking a rest after their 500-kilometre (300 mile) trek across China.

A herd of migrating wild elephants that have gone viral were spotted taking a rest after their 500-kilometre (300 mile) trek across China.

The video, shot in the city of Kunming in Yunnan Province on June 7, shows the elephants laying on their sides to sleep near a village in Xiyang township.

More than 410 people and 14 drones were deployed on Monday (June 7) with more than two tonnes of elephant food to try to lead the herd away from residential areas and steer them to the southwest.

There are 15 elephants in the herd and a male elephant left the group is currently about 4 kilometres away from the rest of the group.

Whilst on their odyssey, the elephants have caused at least 6.4 million yuan in damage ($1.07 million USD).

The video was provided by local media with permission.