Twelve wild Asian elephants were spotted recently near a village in Mengla county, Xishuangbanna Dia Autonomous Prefecture, in Yunnan province.

The elephants — 9 adults and sub-adults, along with three babies — played leisurely on the grass or foraged for food together.

Local forest authorities have begun to conduct real-time monitoring of the group. They also implemented traffic controls and issued warnings in the nearby area, aiming to ward off potential conflicts with humans.

The Asian elephant, the continent's largest land animal, is under top-level protection in China. The species is mainly scattered in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, Pu'er and Lincang. Thanks to intense environmental and wildlife protection efforts, the elephant population in the country has grown to more than 300, Xinhua News Agency reported earlier this month.