For centuries, residents in Phúc Sơn Commune, central province of Nghệ An have lived comfortably with wild elephants, but as bamboo forests – the main diet of many elephants – are replaced with industrial trees, things are changing. Many elephant herds are now finding it difficult to find enough food to survive. Elephants at the Pù Mát National Park in the central province of Nghệ An. Many elephant herds in the province are now finding it difficult to find enough food to survive. – Photo: baonghean.vn Last October, six wild elephants went on a rampage in a commune village and destroyed family crops.The family called neighbours for help to chase the elephants away. However, the wild beasts refused to go until they had destroyed two hectares of acacias and other trees.A resident, Lương Văn Tình from Vều 3 Village, said that elephants once arrived the commune at about 2am and refused to leave even though people tried all means to make them go away.In 2014, several elephants arrived when people were celebrating Tết (Lunar New Year) festival.”The elephants were so aggressive. They appeared to be looking for something to destroy. They even wrecked the kitchen of one family before running off,” Tình said.In 2011, elephants, killed one man and destroyed many tents. In a similar case in 2013, one person died and four people were injured.”We are so worried about unwelcome visits from wild elephants,” Tình said.Other localities in Nghệ An province have also reported the angry behavious of many… [Read full story]
In Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands Province of Dak Lak, mahouts have raised the theft warning level after an elephant named Thoong Ngan had one of its tusks severed by thieves early this month.Thoong Ngan had been released into the wild forests to find food at night when the mammal was attacked.Thieves tied the animal to a big tree to saw its tusk, with one of its legs bound with a chain. The elephant resisted fiercely when the saw blade cut into the marrow in the middle of its tusk, forcing the thieves to run away.However, doctors…... [read more]
Jun hamlet has come up with a new type of community-based tourism co-operative in Lien Son town, Lak district, Dak Lak province, generating employment and stable incomes for locals who are the proud owners of the most unique and famous as well as the largest number of elephants in the locality and within the country as a whole.The reason why people call it an ‘elephant’ tourism co-operative is because members of the co-operative, who are mostly Mnong people, use their 18 trained elephants as the main contributors to the co-operative’s tourism activities.‘Elephant’ capital for tourismIntroducing the tourism co-operative based in…... [read more]
Passion for elephants Dang Nang Long is now director of the Lak Lake Travel Co., an affiliate of the Tourism Company of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. He owns eight elephants, the largest number of tamed elephants throughout the country. Long told Tien Phong newspaper that in the early 20th century, his grandfather moved from the central coastal region to the highlands. He tamed dozens of elephants and supplied some for King Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam. Long’s father, Dang Nang Nhay, followed this job, and of Nhay’s 11 children, only Long continues taming elephants. Long…... [read more]
The Buon Ma Thuot-Dak Lak tourism week 2009 aims to honor elephants- the most important animal to the Highland people. The People’s Committee of Dak Lak Province plans to set up an elephant sanctuary by 2014 at a total cost of approximately VND58 billion (USD3 million).The Buon Ma Thuot-Dak Lak tourism week 2009 aims to honor elephants- the most important animal to the Highland people.The sanctuary will allow the preservation and care of elephants; launch policies to encourage and help elephant breeders; raise awareness of elephant conservation and propose action to minimise conflicts between wild elephants and local residents; cooperate…... [read more]
VietNamNet Bridge – Sipping juice in a small café in Ha Noi in early June, Willem Schaftenaar relaxes before his flight home to the Netherlands. Previously, he was busy in Ban Don Village in Dak Lak Province’s Buon Don District working with officials of the provincial Elephant Conservation Centre (ECC) to save near-extinct elephants in Viet Nam. On this trip to Dak Lak, he was accompanied by Vincent Werbrouck, CEO of Pairi Daiza Foundation, a privately owned zoo and botanical garden in Belgium, who is also looking to support elephants in Viet Nam. Respect for elephants and love of Viet…... [read more]
