2015-11-14 - Pak Lay, Laos.
In Laos, the elephant population has been decimated by logging. Now, a caravan of elephants and their mahouts is marching 400 miles to raise awareness of their plight. The caravan started in Pak Lay district on 27 October and will end, 391 miles later, in Luang Prabang on 9 December with 20 elephants parading through the streets.
2014-05-05 - , Laos.
The captive elephant population in Laos will be extinct in just over a century if current management practices do not change, a University of Queensland study has found. It is estimated that only 480 captive elephants remain across Laos, and the study shows that changes to conservation management are necessary to prevent extinction.
2012-10-12 - Vientiane, Laos.
Known as “Japan-Laos Goodwill Elephants,” eight predominately young female elephants will soon be shipped from their forested and subtropical homes in north-west Laos, to the cold, concreted and caged Tohoko Safari Park, 20 kilometers outside the Fukushima evacuation zone. Well that’s where the fortunate ones will end up. Two are destined for the Kinoshito Circus, whereabouts unknown.
2012-02-23 - Hongsa, Laos.
Sayabouly has hosted an elephant festival for six consecutive years sharing venues in three districts — Sayabouly, Paklai and Hongsa. This year’s event took place, 17 to 19 February, and attracted around 100,000 visitors. Almost all spectators were domestic tourists, while just a few international tourists, possibly 1,000 and most ly Thais, joined the festival.
2012-02-17 - Hongsa, Laos.
The Elephant Festival has been organised to raise awareness of the need for action to protect the Asian elephant as part of the vital cultural and natural heritage of Laos and the countries of the region. Sayaboury Province welcomes you back to pay tribute to its elephants and enjoy great cultural activities and entertainment.
2011-11-29 - Xayabouri, Laos. Tracy Brookshaw, ElefantAsia
Having reported Laos’ first registered elephant birth of 2011 in Ban Viengkeo, Hongsa late September, ElefantAsia proudly announces the birth of a second baby elephant born in Sayaboury just last week. Born to mother Mae Thongkhoun under the supervision of ECC staff, this new baby elephant, a male, will share the same name ‘Noy’ meaning small with the other calves at the Center until the age of two or three when during an official animist ceremony he will chose his own name through the sel...
2011-09-29 - Xayabouri, Laos. Ingrid Suter
ElefantAsia has collaborated with the Elephant Conservation Centre to establish Laos’ first elephant breeding sanctuary. The Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) focuses on providing cows with a safe environment to give birth, when their calves while supplying an income for their owners through soft tourism. The ECC hosts a specialised elephant hospital and laboratory, run by ElefantAsia. This much-needed hospital is capable of detailed blood analysis and the provision of full-time care for sick...
2011-04-21 - Vientiane, Laos.
A herd of wild elephants in Luang Namtha province in the country´s north is now being protected to ensure they do not disappear, according to a provincial official. Luang Namtha provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office Head Mr Soukson Phonpadith told Vientiane Times yesterday there were great numbers of wild elephants in the province in the past. “Now only six elephants remain,” he said. The main causes of the decimation of the elephant population are de...
2011-02-18 - Paklay, Laos.
For its 5th edition, the Lao Elephant Festival will take place on: 18th, 19th & 20th February 2011. Paklay District, Sayaboury province
2010-08-17 - Vientiane, Laos.
A shootout between a gang of poachers and elephant handlers in Laos left one man and one pachyderm dead, news reports said Tuesday. The gang allegedly attacked the mahouts at midnight on August 9 in Hinheup district, Vientiane province, in an attempt to slaughter four elephants for their ivory and body parts, district governor Chanpaeng Douangphachan told the Vientiane Times. Chanpaeng said the poachers fired upon the mahouts, sparking a brief shootout before the elephant minders fled and inform...
2010-08-10 - Thongmixay, Laos. Fiona MacGregor
It may be known as the Land of a Million Elephants, but conservationists are warning that the imminent exportation of more than a third of Laos´s remaining domesticated elephant calves to a Chinese circus could prove disastrous for the endangered species. Once worshipped as gods, the animals are still considered sacred by many in Laos, but loss of habitat and tradition means there are now just 20 domesticated elephants under the age of 10 left in the country.
2009-09-14 - Vientiane, Laos.
The Laotian government has approved a plan to develop a lignite mine and built a power plant in the Hongsa Valley, an area near the habitat of an important elephant population. Environmentalists and experts fear this will drive the pachyderms closer to extinction. A new lignite mine and a power station are slated for construction in Hongsa Valley (Sayaboury province), a natural habitat for elephants that is irreplaceable.
2009-09-08 - Sayaboury, Laos. Beaumont Smith
The wildly successful Sayaboury Elephant Festival, held this year in the village of Hongsa, attracted more than 80,000 visitors, some elegantly attired, some dreadlocked ganja-inspired, despite the event's remote location in northwestern Laos. The 70 or so jumbos were by turns applauded, photographed and simply adored as they dipped like divas.
2009-09-05 - Botene, Laos. SIMON MONTLAKE
When French explorer Henri Mouhot passed this way in 1861, he found the roads so rugged -- "devil's pathways," he called them -- that the only way to travel was on the back of an elephant, without which "no communication would be possible." His appreciation for the animals grew to be nearly poetic. "This colossus is no rough specimen of natural handiwork," he wrote, "but a creature of especial amiability and sagacity, designed for the service of man." Back then, every village had elephants -- so...
2009-02-14 - Sayaboury, Laos.
2008-04-02 - Vientiane, Laos.
Laos, once known as the Land of a Million Elephants, faces warnings from conservationists that it could lose its herds within 50 years if it does not move quickly to protect them with tourism eyed as a possible savior. Poaching and habitat loss from logging, agriculture and hydroelectric projects has caused a major decline in the number of both wild and domesticated Asian elephants in Communist Laos.
2008-03-16 - Vientiane, Laos. DENIS D. GRAY
Connie Speight has swayed on elephant-back through unforgiving jungle and has adopted nine of the high-maintenance beasts. At 83, the retired American teacher is back in this Southeast Asian country to help save what remains of the once mighty herds. Once so famous for its herds that it was called Prathet Lane Xane, or Land of a Million Elephants, Laos is thought to have only 700 left in the wild.
2008-02-15 - Paklay, Laos.
the Elephant Festival has been organised to raise awareness of the need for action to protect the Asian elephant as part of the vital cultural and natural heritage of Laos and the countries of the region. Sayaboury Province welcomes you back to pay tribute to its elephants and enjoy great cultural activities and entertainment.
2008-02-14 - Paklay, Laos.
A mahout scrubs his elephant in a river Paklay, Laos, where the annual pachyderm festival is under way. The event draws attention to the plight of domestic and wild elephants in Asia. Laos once had more than a million of the beasts; now there are fewer than 2,000.
2007-12-22 - Luang Prabang, Laos. VanderWoodzanden
What an amazing experience to ride on the back (actually closer to the head) of an elephant and just trek through the jungle. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience the life of a mahout (elephant keeper and trainer) and join them in their daily activities. The elephant camp has been established outside of Luang Prabang. There are seven female elephants and one baby male elephant. The females were all rescued from their former life of logging and the male was purchased from Siam Rea...
2007-03-08 - Viengkeo, Laos. YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT
Senior mahout Thongpetch's eyes turn misty when he speaks about his feelings for Kham Peng, a 23-year-old elephant with lots of personality. Xayaboury has 500 domesticated elephants and a further 200 to 300 that live in the wild. Hongsa is the largest district in the province and Viengkeo has the elephant community. Actually Hongsa's human and elephant population are evenly matched, and the district holds a special place in elephant folklore because of the excellence of its mahouts who regard th...
2007-03-07 - Hongsa, Laos.
Ancient Laos was known as Lan Xang, the "Land of One Million Elephants" but today fewer than 2,000 of the animals survive and about half of them are driving the problem by helping log the country's last virgin forests. To raise awareness about the plight of the majestic animals, France-based non-profit group ElefantAsia last month organised modern Laos' first elephant festival in the remote northwestern district of Hongsa.
2007-02-17 - Hongsa, Laos.
The Hongsa Elephant Festival has been organised to raise awareness of the need for action to protect the Asian elephant as part of the vital cultural and natural heritage of Laos and the countries of the region. Sayaboury Province welcomes you to pay tribute to its elephants and enjoy great cultural activities and entertainment. A unique 2-days cultural attraction for visitors to Laos!
2023-10-02 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) is proud to announce the dates for our 44th annual conference, hosted by both the Fort Worth Zoo and Dallas Zoo on October 2 to 5, 2023. The conference will inc...
2023-09-10 - Temerloh, Malaysia.
The female elephant, which died at the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre (PKGK) in Lanchang, was brought to the country from Assam, India in 1974. Lokimala was brought to this country...
2023-08-28 - Pattaya, Thailand.
Following Thai tradition, the offspring of Pang Sarai, 22, and Plai Ningnong, 27, was named ‘Plai Boonmak,’ symbolizing ‘Abundant Merit.’ This ceremony expressed heartfelt wishes for the well-...
2023-08-26 - Omaha, United States.
The baby elephant at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo officially has a name; Amandra. Pronounced “ah-MON-dra,” the name means “strong woman.” The zoo said it was chosen by a donor and their family. ...
2023-08-24 - Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Zoo’s nine-year-old elephant Man Jai has died after a sudden illness. The Asian elephant was diagnosed with an incurable disease on Monday after zookeepers noticed lethargy and swelling in...
2023-08-22 - Mysore, India.
Preparations are in full swing at the Mysore Palace premises ahead of the arrival of the Dasara elephants. The jumbos will camp here for approximately two months, undergoing training and consuming nut...
2023-08-21 - Kataragama, Sri Lanka.
An individual who fed a poisoned watermelon to an elephant called “ Asela” of the Kataragama Abhinawarama temple was taken into custody by the Kataragama police on saturday. However, Veterinary S...
2023-08-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Contraceptives are now being successfully used to prevent elephant overpopulation in South Africa. Approximately 75% of all breeding-age female elephants outside of the greater Kruger National Park ha...
2023-08-21 - Sapporo, Japan.
19-year-old Asian elephant Pearl and her newborn baby stand together at the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo. According to the zoo, this is the first time in Japan that an Asian elephant has been born ...
2023-08-18 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Two elephants at the Hanoi Zoo have been unchained after electric fences have been replaced anew. Le Si Dung, general director of the Hanoi Zoological Garden company, on Thursday said the two elephant...
2023-08-18 - Lampang, Thailand.
The Thai elephant, recently repatriated from Sri Lanka, Sak Surin, was moved to a new home today (Friday), at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province, after the completion of its 30-...
2023-08-16 - Wuhan, China.
Born on June 26, 2022, the male elephant marked the first time that the zoo successfully bred an African elephant. The calf's father, named A Hai, and his mother, named A Nan, came to Wuhan in 1997 fr...
2023-08-14 - Fresno, United States.
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated World Elephant Day with a big announcement. Zoo officials say their female African Elephants are pregnant. They are expected to give birth between September and Octob...
2023-07-05 - Lampang, Thailand.
It is out of question that Sak Surin, now the most famous elephant in Thailand, will have to return to Sri Lanka, as he is now under the patronage of HM the King, said Natural Resources and Environmen...
2023-07-04 - Lampang, Thailand.
On 2 July 2023 at 07.00 hrs. the Tusker, Muthu Raja (Sak Surin), was transported from Sri Lanka to Thailand for medical treatment and rehabilitation by Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane, with cooperation fro...
2023-05-27 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A team of veterinarians and experts will be sent to Sri Lanka next month to prepare for the return of Sak Surin, an ailing and ageing Thai elephant, to Thailand for medical treatment and physical reha...
2023-05-21 - Karachi, Pakistan.
A month after the death of Noor Jehan, an elephant in Karachi Zoo whose illness revived criticisms of the zoos, a second elephant named Madhubala is sick with a potentially fatal infection. The 18-yea...
2023-05-18 - , United States.
Callee, a 22-year-old male who has been at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since 2019, will be moved to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, the Omaha zoo announced on Thursday. Callee's move was...
2023-05-15 - Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
In the early evening of May 11, a small crowd gathered in front of the Zoológico Dr. Juan A. Rivero, hoping for one last peek of Mundi, the elephant symbol of the zoo shut down for animal abuse in M...
2023-05-09 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo made the heartbreaking announcement Tuesday that one of its elephants has died. The 7-year-old African elephant, Ajabu, passed away Monday after a 12-day battle with a viral infection, ...