Residents and authorities reported sightings of nearly 30 wild elephants on Saturday in Dak Lak Province\'s Yok Don National Park.

Nguyen Huy Hai, head of Forest Watch Station No.8, told a Vietnam News Agency representative that the herd, including one calf, had been sighted in several sections of the park within the last month.

The herd travelled from Cu Jut forest in neighbouring Dak Nong Province in search of food, he said. After reports of the herd overturning several milestone markers and destroying corn fields in Ea Sup Town, local ethnic minorities were warned to light fires and make loud noises by banging pots or gongs to drive the elephants away if they got too close, said Hai.

The goal is to protect both people and the wild creatures.

A project on wild elephant protection to 2015 is currently being implemented in Dak Lak Province with an aim to manage and preserve the park\'s community of 10 wild elephant herds, somewhere between 83-110 individual elephants.

The forestry companies of Ea H\'Mo and Chu Pa in Ea Sup District are implementing the project.

Under the project, the wild elephants in Dak Lak Province have been provided with a good living environment and food resources in an effort to preserve the species and help them develop well in the natural environment.