“They chase down food, wander around, and don’t have a home,” he said.

There is also a group of 16 elephants and one lone elephant in neighboring Lancang county, according to the forestry authority.

At present, drones are being used to conduct real-time monitoring of all 18 elephants 24 hours a day. Sections of road will be cordoned off if elephants are found there.

“If the elephants get close to villages, alerts will be sent to the villagers,” Chen said. “People should also avoid provoking the elephants, who may be aggressive if they are scared.”

Qiu Weiyi contributed to this story.