The villager, surnamed Wang, allegedly opened fire on a group of intruding wild elephants with a homemade gun early Sunday, the press office of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture said in a statement.
One female elephant was later found dead in Wang's fish pond, with a bullet in its head. It was carrying a male calf and was about to give birth soon, the statement said.
Wang told police he had yelled hoping to scare the elephants away, but of no avail.
The statement did not say what penalties Wang might face.
Wild Asian elephants are an endangered species under protection by the Chinese government. About 250 to 300 are roaming in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, Puer and Lincang.
But wild elephants often intrude villages, damage crops and even attack humans.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
