China's lost elephant herd

At least a dozen buzzing drones monitor them around the clock. Wherever they go, they're escorted by police. And when they eat or sleep, they're watched by millions online.

For more than a week, China has been gripped by a new internet sensation: a herd of 15 marauding elephants, who are large, lost and wrecking havoc in the country's southwest.

Millions have tuned in to livestreams of the elephants, which have trekked more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) across the country since escaping from a nature reserve in South China last year.

Viewers have followed transfixed as the elephants trampled crops, causing more than a million dollars worth of damage, and roamed through towns, prompting local residents to stay inside.

The herd began its journey in the southwestern province of Yunnan, traveling from a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna to Yuxi, a city of 2.6 million people.

It's still unclear why the elephants are making the journey north. Some have posited that shrinking rainforests in their home may have prompted the trip. Others say they could just be lost.

Asian elephants are considered a protected species in China, and around 300 of them live in Yunnan, according to Xinhua.