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 elephants of the zoo have been unchained and are now free to roam within their enclosure. "We just replaced the electric fences, so they can now be unchained," he said.
2023-03-29 - Buon Don, Vietnam.
A 49-year-old elephant in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has died from illness and exhaustion. The information was given on March 27 by Tran Xuan Phuoc, director of the Dak Lak Centre for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management.
2022-09-30 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Solving human-wildlife conflict is a complex issue and a pressing concern for a wide variety of endangered species, none more so than the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). People living around Vietnam’s Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve, however, want to foster coexistence with elephants, not conflict. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation that looks to understand community perspectives on how to solve human-elephant conflict.
2022-08-21 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
A national action plan on elephant conservation in Vietnam for 2023-2032 with a vision for 2050 is being developed. According to the summary report of the General Department of Forestry, the number of elephants in Vietnam has reduced by 95%.In Dak Lak province alone, at least 23 wild elephants died in the period 2009-2016, accounting for about 25% of the total current herd. The central highlands and southern region are the habitat of most elephants in Vietnam.
2022-04-16 - , Vietnam.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has approved adjustments to an elephant conservation plan in Vietnam that was previously signed off for 2013-2020. Under the decision, the scheme will be implemented until the end of 2025. Two urgent elephant conservation projects in the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Nam will be added to the plan. The Deputy PM requested relevant agencies to guide, inspect, supervise and assist localities in order to effectively implement the scheme.
2021-12-14 - , Vietnam.
During the elephant's pregnancy, the owner will receive VND300,000/day (in the first 10 months of pregnancy), VND600,000/day (from the 11th month of pregnancy to the 6th month after the elephant gives birth). In total, the female elephant owner will receive about VND400 (about $18,000). Accordingly, elephant owners will be granted VND500,000/day (female elephant owners) and VND600,000/day (male elephant owners) when their elephants meet during the rut season.
2020-12-05 - Pleiku, Vietnam.
Ms. Ploanh, the owner of the elephant, said yesterday (December 3), the elephant Ya Tao was taken to the bank of Ia Tul river to drink water. After drinking, the elephant was lying on the bank of the stream, a while later she died.. Ya Tao was bought by Mr. Ksor Cham in an elephant-trading market in Dak Lak province (the province that has the biggest elephant populations in Vietnam) in 1990. After Mr. Cham passed away, Siu Kiem, Mr. Cham’s son-in-law had taken charge of taking care of Ya Tao. ...
2020-10-21 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Tran Hoa, Nguyen Quy
Authorities in Dak Lak Province are considering calling a halt to the famous elephant-back tours following accidents and animal protection concerns. Nguyen Thuy Phuong Hieu, deputy director of the Central Highlands province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said at a recent tourism conference that the tours, which activists describe as "exploitation" of elephants, would stop.
2020-09-02 - Thanh Son, Vietnam. Phuoc Tuan
A pregnant elephant entered local farmland in southern Dong Nai Province to give birth Tuesday, leaving behind her placenta. Residents of Thanh Son Commune, Dinh Quan District on Monday evening saw a herd of elephants entering a cashew farm 20 meters from the jungle.
2020-04-10 - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
A herd of eight Asian elephants – an endangered species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – has been found living in an elephant conservation area in Nong Son District, Quang Nam Province.
2017-01-26 - Buon Don, Vietnam.
A seasoned veterinarian from the Netherlands has been a lifelong ally of the shrinking herd of elephants in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Dr. Willem Schaftenarr, 63, has been a household name among elephant conservationists, mahouts, and the pachyderms themselves in Ban Don (Don Village), which is nestled in the namesake district in Dak Lak Province.
2017-01-12 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
According to the Dak Lak provincial Elephant Conservation Center, there are five groups of elephants living in the province, with 60-70 in each group. In Ea Sup district alone, there is one group of 30-34, while in Buon Don district, there are four groups with 30-36 elephants each. A survey conducted by the center found that the number of elephant groups in Dak Lak has decreased.
2016-12-21 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Now there are fewer than 100 elephants left in the wild in Vietnam and just 80 or so in captivity, mostly used to ferry tourists around the leafy forests of Vietnam’s central highlands. Experts say the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre could be the last hope for Vietnam’s disappearing pachyderms.
2016-12-17 - Gia Lai, Vietnam.
Ya Tao, the elephant of local Ksor Cham in Gia Lai Province, is now the only living domesticated elephant in the northern Highland region, a place once famous for its elephant residents. Ksor Cham said many people had wanted to buy his elephant but he had refused them all. Ya Tao has become an important family member after living with them for over 50 years.
2016-12-17 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Between 2009 and 2011, up to nine elephants died in the southern province of Dong Nai, which were initially suspected of being killed by people. Recently, the only elephant in Tan Phu protective forest was also killed. According to the forest management board, for many years, the elephants have destroyed sugarcane and crops grown by people. Conservationists warned that if more elephants continue to be killed, the species faces extinction in Dong Nai.
2016-12-06 - Buon Don, Vietnam.
Domesticated elephants in Vietnam’s Central Highlands are receiving ultrasound scans by international experts to check their fitness for mating. In the heat of the afternoon inside Ban Don Village in Dak Lak Province, a group of vets from Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center (DECC) waited alongside Dutch elephant expert Dr. Willem Schaftenaar for H’Tuk, a female elephant who lives at a local ecotourism resort.
2016-11-30 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly a tonne of ivory smuggled from Africa after locating nearly five tons in five previous shipments to the same port in the past two months. Ho Chi Minh City´s deputy customs chief, Le Dinh Loi, said the ivory seized Monday and Tuesday was hidden inside timber in two containers that arrived at Cat Lai port and was en route to neighboring Cambodia.
2016-11-14 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnam has destroyed seized ivory and rhino horn, wildlife products derived from species threatened with extinction. The public display of destruction comes ahead of a global conference to combat the illicit trade.
2016-10-31 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
According to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), during the 2010-15 period, customs officers uncovered a total of 116 cases of animal smuggling and trading, confiscating over 22 tonnes of ivory and 457 ivory bracelets.
2016-10-29 - Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
The Vietnamese customs seized an illegal cargo of ivory weighing nearly one ton in Ho Chi Minh city, making it the fourth ivory smuggling case this month, according to media reports on Thursday. The shipment, on its way to Cambodia from Kenya, was discovered Wednesday in two containers in the city’s Cat Lai Port, according to the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported.
2016-10-10 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Vietnamese customs in the port of Ho Chi Minh City have seized about two tonnes of ivory hidden in a shipment of timber from Mozambique. Although the ivory trade is banned in Vietnam, the country is still an important market for worked ivory, and a transit point for elephant tusks smuggled from Africa to various other Asian destinations
2016-05-19 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A herd of 20 wild elephants foraging for food and water near residential areas in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is threatening the safety of local residents. Huynh Trung Luan, director of the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, said the elephants have destroyed crops and irrigation systems in several villages in Ea Sup District. “They are apparently moving from the Yok Don National Park to the Ea Sup Thuong Reservoir for water.â€
2016-04-23 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
More than 100 pieces of tusks were seized as customs officers checked a suspicious cargo in Noi Bai International Airport on Friday. The shipment was held on suspicion of being elephant tusks upon its arrival to the Hanoi airport from the Turkish Airline flight TK 6562 on April 6, according to the airport customs.
2016-04-15 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Conservationists in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak are continuing to try and reintroduce a baby elephant they rescued from a well back to its herd despite several failed attempts. Pham Van Lang, deputy director of the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, told Zing News that the two-month old calf remains at the center as they were seeking more advice from experts and higher authorities.
2016-03-29 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Animal rescue officers in Dak Lak Province on Monday saved a baby elephant that fell into a five-meter deep well, possibly while looking for water. Members from the Central Highlands province’s Elephant Conservation Center and forest rangers spent one hour pulling the elephant up, after tying a rope around its belly. Local officials believed the elephant belongs of a herd of more than ten elephants which were traveling to a nearby lake for water.
2016-01-08 - Hai Phong, Vietnam.
In November 2015, Vietnamese officials seized more than two tons of ivory that originated in Mozambique. The haul was valued at over $4 million (US). All Africa News reported that the ivory was found on board a container vessel that docked in Hai Phong.
2015-04-20 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The authorities are still conducting investigations to clarify the cause of death of an elephant named H´Lun (38 years old), under the management of Mr. Y Nhuan Hmok, 69, of EaWer commune, Buon Don district, Dak Lak province, famous for elephants in Vietnam. It is reported that the elephant was stabbed on its left thigh by someone on March 30. The Elephant Conservation Center of Dak Lak Province brought the elephant to the Ranger Station No. 1 of Yok Don National Park for treatment.
2015-04-09 - Yok Don, Vietnam.
According to the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, the number of wild and domesticated elephants in the locality is declining in the area. A report shows there were more than 550 wild elephants in 1980, but the figure has dropped to 70-80. Seventeen elephants have been killed since 2009. There were 502 domesticated elephants in 1980, but now there are only 48.
2014-06-25 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Vietnam’s customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport discovered Sunday 39 African elephant tusks and about 100 ivory handicrafts worth over US$188,000 hidden in a package allegedly shipped from Africa. Customs officers have seized all the tusks and ivory artifacts, worth VND4 billion ($188,271), for investigation.
2014-05-25 - Hai Phong, Vietnam.
The tusks were concealed in a 40-foot container. The customs declaration for the container claimed it held 15 tons of charcoal. Local customs officers inspected the container and found that the haul of elephant tusks, each of which was cut into many pieces and hidden in charcoal bags. The shipment was smuggled into Vietnam from Hong Kong by sea before being exported to China, they said.
2013-12-23 - Dai Nam, Vietnam.
A Vietnamese zookeeper died Monday after being crushed by a two ton elephant. Doan Huu Tai, 27, was attacked by the Elephant who grabbed him with his trunk and slammed him into a water tank. According to Vietnamnet the man attempted to slip into the cage to paint a fence. The Dai Nam tourist area, where the incident occurred is located in the Binh Dong province.
2013-12-03 - Dak Drong, Vietnam.
Three wild elephants ravaged crops and damaged dozens of houses in a hamlet in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong last week, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. Initial statistics by Dak Drong Commune showed 47 households had their houses and crops damaged by the elephants.
2013-10-25 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Police in the southern province of Dong Nai have arrested five people on suspicion of killing a wild elephant in 2011 with military weapons, and for illegally trading and keeping the rare animals. According to police, they suspected the poachers of murdering a wild elephant in Tan Phu Forest, Dinh Quan District, nearly two years ago. The elephant was found dead on December 23, 2011, with one of its tusks missing.
2013-10-22 - Hai Phong, Vietnam.
Authorities in Vietnam have seized 2.4 tonnes of elephant tusks illegally imported from Malaysia in the second large seizure this month. Customs official Truong Cong Thanh in the northern port city of Hai Phong says the tusks were found in a container on Monday. The cargo had been declared as sea shells. Thanh said Tuesday that the case was under investigation.
2013-08-23 - Ho Chi Min city, Vietnam.
Customs officers at ICD Phuoc Long Port in Thu Duc District said they had seized 158 elephant tusks hidden in a container coming in from Mozambique.The case has now been transferred to the Investigation Police. On August 22, Le Van Tu, Deputy Director of Thai Minh Company and an accomplice were caught illegally transporting a container with the elephant tusks through the port into Vietnam.
2013-08-18 - Pleiku, Vietnam.
Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, 49, a resident in Phu Hoi Ward, Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province is very cautious seeing strange guests because he owns four pieces of ivory fossils which is a 1.26 m long tusk when they are joined together. According to Son, about 40 years ago his father – a photographer, often worked in Chu A Thai in Thien Phu District, Gia Lai Province. He usually lived with and helped indigenous ethnic minorities there. The village chief once presented the beloved artist four pieces of ...
2013-08-06 - Ea Sup, Vietnam.
The herd of 30 wild elephants usually appears on the fields of people in J’Loi commune of Ea Sup district. Ea Sup is not the only district which suffers from elephants. A report of the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, since 2011, the wild elephants have damaged 185 hectares of crops in Ea Sup, Ea H’leo and Don Village.
2013-05-17 - Yok Don national park, Vietnam.
A week after first sighting a wild elephant ensnared by two traps – one on its foot and another on its trunk – rescuers were able to retrieve the animal on May 14 from a protected forest in Dak Lak Province. They used tamed elephants to rope the young injured male elephant around its neck and tow to it to station in Yok Don National Park.
2013-04-21 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A group of students from the Ho Chi Minh City College of Culture and Arts recently had a frightening experience in Dak Lak Province when a tamed elephant at a tourist spot suddenly rushed at them. The pachyderm, Y Mol, only backed off after its mahout, Y Suong, jabbed it repeatedly on the head with a spur. But Suong said the big animal was not attacking the students.
2013-04-04 - Quang Binh, Vietnam.
An elephant believed to be the last one in the wilds of the north-central province of Quang Binh has been found dead with its head, legs and skin removed in a local forest. It quoted local people as saying that the forest had been home to two adult elephants – one male and one female. But, two years ago the male animal was poached for it tusks, so it was suspected that the newly-discovered carcass belonged to the female.
2013-03-25 - Ea Sup, Vietnam.
The dead body of a wild elephant in a state of decay and stinking, was detected on the bank of the Ea Sup Thuong Lake in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, which is known as the land of elephants in Vietnam, on March 18. Mr. Huynh Trung Lan - Director of the Dak Lak Center for Elephant Conservation – said on March 20 that the Center coordinated with the authorities of Ea Sup District to destroy the body of the elephant, which is about 3 months old. The dead elephant was discovered on M...
2012-12-29 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
A pivotal moment in efforts to tackle the current rhino poaching crisis took place today as the governments of South Africa and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve co-operation between the two states on biodiversity conservation and protection including tackling illegal wildlife trafficking.
2012-12-21 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Instead of giving us money, please give us forests. We will help elephants reproduce,†said an elephant breeder in Dak Lak. The elephant breeders in Dak Lak would receive 414 million dong in financial support from the state for every elephant who gives birth. However, they wish they can receive forests rather than money, because the forests, not money, would help elephants live their normal lives and reproduce.
2012-12-13 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
At the end of the war in 1975, as many as 2,000 wild elephants roamed the lowland forests of Vietnam. Today, there are as few as 50. Poaching and habitat destruction have brought the animals to the brink of extinction, and conservationists say the only herd with a long-term chance of survival is located along the border separating Yok Don National Park and Cambodia. ​​According to park director Tran Van Thanh, the already limited forests are shrinking as local communities cut tre...
2012-10-30 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A herd of elephants has trampled to death a police officer in a central Vietnamese jungle. The victim and two other men went into the jungle Saturday to look for apricot trees. The director of the elephant conservation center in Daklak province said more than 20 wild elephants attacked the men as they returned home that night. Huynh Trung Luan said two of the men escaped unhurt. The 42-year-old policeman was found dead Sunday morning.
2012-10-12 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The serious poaching which has not been eased over the last many years has led to the sharp fall of the number of elephant individuals in Vietnam, from 1500-2000 in 1990s to tens of elephants now. Three years ago, FFI, an international flora and fauna conservation organization, gave the warning that the then 150 elephant individuals were in the danger of becoming extinct. Though the poachers still cannot make elephants disappear absolutely from Vietnam, extinction is a foreseeable thing, if Viet...
2012-08-28 - Yok Don, Vietnam.
The pair of elephants in Yok Don National Park was killed for tusks, according to a report by the Elephant Conservation Center of Dak Lak Province sent to the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on August 27. According to the report, the elephants were killed in Ea Bung commune, Ea Sup district of Dak Lak province. They are between 22 to 25 years old. The male elephant is 3.7 meters long, 2.5 meters tall. Its head was cut off to take its tusks and skull. Its trunk was also seve...
2012-08-27 - Yok Don, Vietnam.
The dead bodies of a male and female elephant were founded in the core zone of the Yok Don National Park, in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. Police are investigating the case. On August 26, Dak Lak police searched the site where the elephants were found. The elephants were also examined to serve the investigation. Earlier, at noon of August 25, forest rangers detected the dead bodies of two elephants that were only 5 meters from each other. The bodies were being decomposed.
2012-08-02 - Saigon, Vietnam.
Customs officials at Ho Chi Minh City-based ICD Phuoc Long 3 Port on Tuesday found 150 elephant tusks inside a tractor trailer truck. The illegally smuggled haul weighs 2.4 tons and is worth approximately US$4.9 million at the market price, they said. In the customs declaration the Thai Minh Company, who imported the goods, declared that their consignment only contained salted cowhides from Mozambique worth VND1.2 billion (US$57,500).
2012-06-25 - Ho Chi Min city, Vietnam.
The Saigon Zoological and Botanical Garden last weekend finished the restoration of the bronze elephant statue which Thai King Paramindr Maha Prajadhipok had presented to the zoo during his visit to the city in 1930.
2012-04-15 - Hue, Vietnam.
Two elephants have been used to serve visitors to the Hue royal citadel at Hue Festival 2012, besides tramcars. Tourists can also touch and take photo with these elephants. The Center for Preservation of Hue Relics bought the elephants two years ago. They have been trained since then to perform circus. They will be used to serve tourists during the Hue Festival only.
2012-04-09 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre on Thursday requested an official probe into the deaths of three wild elephants in the Central Highlands district of Ea Sup during the final week of March. A 2-tonne male elephant was found dead on March 31 with many parts of its body missing in Ea Bung Commune. The body of a 4-year-old elephant, weighing some 500kg, was discovered on the same day in Cu M’lanh while five days later a 5-month-old animal was found dead in the same area.
2012-03-20 - Buôn Ma Thuột, Vietnam.
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 t...
2012-03-11 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Dr Bao Huy from the Tay Nguyen University has warned that the slow implementation of the conservation projects would be a big disadvantage to the province, since a lot of foreign and domestic organizations now show their big interests in the conservation work. The organizations will only provide capital, equipment and techniques to fund the projects if they can see with their eyes, the feasibility of the conservation projects. Meanwhile, Vietnam has to spend too much time on complicated procedur...
2012-03-06 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
An action plan to conserve elephants in Nghe An, Dak Lak and Dong Nai was approved by the Prime Minister six years ago, in 2006. However, no considerable progress has been made so far. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said that the elephant conservation plan has been going slowly, because localities have not have money to implement the plan. Therefore, the ministry has asked the Prime Minister to extend the elephant conservation plan until 2020 with the name: “Emergency...
2012-03-05 - Saigon, Vietnam.
Vietnam has been well known as a country with many elephants that can be found throughout the country. However, big international conservation organizations have repeatedly given warnings that elephants are in danger of extinction. Dr Bao Huy from the Tay Nguyen University has pointed out that the elephant breeding for tourism purpose has degraded their fertility. “If we don’t take actions right now, Dak Lak elephants would get extinct in 20 more years,” he warned.
2012-02-23 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
A 30km solar electric fencing system will be installed in southern Dong Nai Province´s forest this year to minimize conflict between elephants from the Natural and Cultural Reserve and nearby villagers. Tran Van Mui, reserve director, told the Viet Nam News that the fencing, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to protect the living environment of both the people and dwindling elephants.
Late night of February 21, a two hectare sugarcane plot belonging to five households in Phu Ly Commune of Vinh Cuu District in Dong Nai Province was completed trampled and devastated by a herd of ten wild elephants, foraging for food. Tran Van Mui, the Zone’s Director, said the herd included female and male elephants along with few baby elephants.
2012-02-12 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Forest rangers in the Dong Nai Natural and Cultural Conversation Zone in Dong Nai Province yesterday saved a 100-kg elephant that had fallen into a well. With the help of local residents, the rangers managed to take the elephant out of the 2-m deep well in Subzone 59, Phu Ly Commune, Vinh Cuu District, said Tran Van Mui, the zone’s director.
2012-01-09 - Saigon, Vietnam. Dan Koehl
Ni stayed on Saigon Circus in Vietnam as a single elephant, most of the time kept on an extremely short chain, which restricted her movements to a minimum. She arrived yesterday in Saigon Zoo. And since I am now in Saigon, I will go to see her tomorrow.
2011-12-29 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Half of the wild elephants in Dong Nai Province have been wiped out in recent years, despite steps taken by the Prime Minister to save them. A project that he initiated five years ago to provide them with sanctuary in three "elephant" provinces by the year 2010 failed to get underway in the province.
2011-12-28 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Police in Dong Nai Province said they had found 2 bullet tips in the body of the wild elephant that was killed 5 days ago. One of the tips was buried in the head of the elephant and the other in its right leg, the police said. Six holes similar to bullet-holes were found on the head and hip and two cuts, about 50 cm long each, were also found on the back.
2011-12-27 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
Forest rangers on Friday found the carcass of an elephant in a protected forest in the southern province of Dong Nai, the online newspaper Dan Tri reported. The decaying elephant, which weighed around three tons, was found in the 14,000-hectare Tan Phu Forest in Dinh Quan District.
2011-11-10 - Mong Cai, Vietnam.
Weighing more than a tonne and hidden inside bundles of cloth, more than a tonne of ivory has been confiscated from a river boat near the city of Mong Cai, close to the country´s border with China. Vietnamese officials say that scientific analysis confirms that all 211 items seized during the raid last month were, as suspected, African elephant ivory.
2011-10-24 - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
A 70-year-old elephant died last Tuesday due to hunger and cold weather while it was on the way to perform circus in the central province of Quang Nam. The body of the 4-ton elephant has been destroyed and the place where it died has been sterilized, said Nguyen Van Ngu, chairman of People’s Committee of Thang Binh District. The elephant, named Ho Nun, came from the Don village in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and was hired by the animal circus troupe Hoang Nam.
2011-10-23 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnamese authorities say they have uncovered more than a ton of elephant tusks that smugglers were attempting to illegally take to China. Customs official Ly Tran Tuan says the 221 pieces of tusks were discovered Sunday hidden in rolls of fabric that were being transported on a boat on the Ka Long river bordering the two countries.
2011-10-04 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
With the death of a large number of tame elephants recently concerns have risen regarding the threat of extinction in the absence of measures to safeguard the animals. Dan Nang Long, an elephant keeper from Central Highland Dak Lak Province, had one of his elephants killed and three others injured in a poaching attack. Long said that while he had reported the incident to local police, very little existed in terms of concrete evidence in confirming the crime.
2011-10-01 - Ha Noi, Vietnam.
Vietnamese police have seized more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of ivory believed smuggled from abroad, state-controlled media reported on Friday. Officers arrested three Vietnamese transporting the banned cargo on Thursday in a van through the north-central province of Nghe An, the reports said. Pictures of the haul showed more than two dozen tusks.
2011-09-30 - Ha Noi, Vietnam.
A recently released postcard book titled Nhung Nguoi Ban Lon (The Giant Friends) features 51 elephants that work with families living in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac. A photograph, biography and the characteristics of each elephant cover a double page colour spread, along with the slogan: "Don´t let elephants become a memory".
2011-08-24 - Saigon, Vietnam. Annie Eagleton
Shortly after returning from Dak Lak to Da Nang, I was alerted to a campaign to retire a circus elephant in Sai Gon. This elephant cow, Ny, had been captured from the wild at age three and was gifted to Sai Gon Circus in District 1, by the City of Ho Chi Minh. (I was recently informed that she was originally a gift from Sony Korea, along with another elephant, in gratitude for licence in Viet Nam. The government, at a loss what to do with them, gave them to the circus.)
2011-06-06 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Dak Lak Province authorities have incinerated the body of a baby elephant found in Yok Don National Park last Wednesday. Nguyen Con, Yok Don park ranger, said they found the decomposed elephant, weighing around 100 kilograms, at the section No. 290. He said it was a newborn elephant but they couldn’t identify the cause of the death.
2011-05-11 - Lam Dong , Vietnam.
The Lam Dong Province People’s Procuracy has charged Phan Thi Hoa, director of the Nam Qua Eco-Tourism Co., Ltd., and two other with selling ivories of a dead elephant. Hoa, 52, from Lam Dong is now banned from leaving her residence, while Phan Dac Mau Dai, 33, also from Lam Dong and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, 36, from Dong Nai Province, will be detained for 2 months for investigation.
2011-05-06 - Hai Phong, Vietnam.
Vietnamese customs discovered nearly 600 kilograms of African elephant tusks hidden in a shipping container of rubber from Tanzania, authorities said Friday. The authorities made the haul on Thursday after receiving a tip. "Smuggled elephant tusks were hidden in a very sophisticated way," Vu Hoang Duong, head of customs at the port of Hai Phong, told the German Press Agency dpa. "They cut open tanks for holding rubber, filled them with elephant tusks and soldered them shut again."
2011-04-25 - Dalat, Vietnam.
An elephant was found brutally killed in the central highlands resort town of Da Lat Sunday. The 38-year-old male elephant was found tied to a tree, and the tendons of its hind legs were slashed. Its tusks and tail hair, meanwhile, were still in place. According to initial information, the elephant belonging to Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Complex went missing Saturday night when it was left to graze on a hillside. The elephant´s caretaker was absent from work that day.
2011-04-03 - Don Village, Vietnam.
An old elephant waits, incomplete, in the shade of a big tamarind tree outside Yok Don National Park. The giant beast’s two tusks have been cut off by its owner to dissuade poachers from killing it. But that didn’t stop them from cutting off the hairy tip of its tail—a single strand can sell for between US$10-15 at tourist shops throughout Dak Lak Province.
2011-03-25 - Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.
The fossil tooth is believed to be the tooth of an Asian elephant, with an age of 30,000-50,000 years. “This is the first time a fossil tooth of this species of elephant has been discovered in Thai Nguyen,” said Dr. Trinh Nang Chung, who led the archaeological survey. The tooth was founded in Than Sa River in Vo Nhai district, the section running through the Da Nguom, a famous archaeological site in Thai Nguyen. The tooth was unearthed at the depth of 3m, in a hole dug by gold miners. Gold m...
2011-03-11 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
an elephant race and dug-out canoe race were organized by the Dak Lak Tourism JS Company, with the participation of 20 elephants and 20 dug-out canoes. In the qualifying round, four teams, each comprising 5 elephants aged 23 to 45, raced each other and the first five qualified for the final. Each elephant was ridden by two handlers who prodded the animals to run as fast as they could.
2011-02-11 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Central Highland Dak Lak Province´s famed tame elephants may become extinct in the next 20-25 years unless conservation project receive Goverment funding, experts said. The population of existing tame elephants is being overexploited for tourism and is under threat from poachers. Elephants are also not being encouraged to breed, according to a study on tamed elephants in the province by Central Highlands University, which showed that the number of tamed elephants in the province had declin...
2011-02-03 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The number of elephants in Don Village, Dak Lak province, famous for hunting and taming wild elephants, is going down. According to research, only 0.6 percent of tamed elephants have been reproductive in the last 30 years. Recently, the rate is nearly zero percent because male and female elephants don’t have favorable environment to meet and copulate since they are managed by different people. Moreover, they are overexploited for tourism purposes.
2011-01-08 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A tame elephant that was stabbed dozens of times by poachers two months ago has died, Le Thi Thanh Ha, director of the Ban Don Eco-tourism Company, said on Thursday. Poachers inflicted 217 cuts to the Pak Cu elephant´s hind legs and tail. Ha said the male elephant had long and valuable tusks. The eco-tourism company spent VND50 million (US$2,500) trying to treat the elephant´s injuries.
2010-10-25 - Tây Nguyên, Vietnam.
It’s 1975, and Y’Tin Eban, a thirteen year old Rhade boy living in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, is the youngest elephant keeper ever in his village. He plans someday to open the first elephant-training school in Vietnam. He has promised his elephant, Lady, that he will care for her all her life and mash up bananas for her when she’s old and has lost her teeth. Y’Tin has lots of ideas, lots of plans.
2010-10-25 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A tamed elephant with beautiful tusks found last week with hundreds of cuts on his body has been in critical condition, Buon Don District officials said. The tusker was found in a forest near the Ban Don Eco-tourism Company´s office in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. Thieves attacked the three-tonne elephant, named Pac Ku, with the intention of killing him and removing his 70cm tusks, local people say.
2010-10-13 - Daklak, Vietnam.
For a taste of central highlands history, tourists to Daklak Province should visit the tomb of the king of elephant hunters in Buon Don Village. There are 40 elephant hunters buried in the unique graveyard that has about 40 tombs. The hunters entombed there killed at least 25 to 30 elephants each. To be buried in the cemetery was a tribute to their huntsmanship. The oldest tomb belongs to N’Thu Knul, who was a powerful tribal chief born in 1828. He is worshipped as founder of the art of hunti...
2010-10-06 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Four men in Vietnam´s Central Highlands have been charged with cutting off the tusks and tails of captive elephants at tourist sites, a police official said Tuesday. The men allegedly shocked the elephants unconscious with a car battery, then sawed off their tusks and tails to sell for ornamental and medicinal purposes.
2010-10-01 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Five people have been arrested on charges they ran the largest rare animal-parts trafficking ring ever uncovered in Hanoi, a police official said Wednesday. The suspects allegedly bought and processed rare animal remains, including tiger and elephant bones, for use in traditional medicine. Police arrested the five suspects on Tuesday, said Colonel Nguyen Van Nong, Head of Hanoi Police´s department for economic crime investigation.
2010-09-21 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Huong´s dank shop provides some brief respite from the waves of horn-blaring luxury SUVs bullying pedestrians on the pavements of Hanoi. But more crucially, it offers a final resting place, of sorts, for some of Vietnam´s wild elephants. Huong is the beaming owner of Artcen Company, an "import-export" outfit specialising in crafted ivory products.
2010-09-01 - Dalat, Vietnam.
Rascals cut tails of two elephants, which are serving at the Prenn Waterfall Tourist Area in the Highland city of Dalat on August 31. Hunting elephants for tail hair has boomed in Daklak Province, which is famous for elephant taming, because people believe that luck will come to those who wear elephant-tail-hair-made jewelry.
2010-08-13 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
A juvenile elephant that won renown after appearing in a documentary died in Hanoi Wednesday of an infection it had been carrying for years. Kham Bun, a six-year-old male Asiatic elephant belonging to the Vietnam Circus Federation, suffered a foreleg injury four years ago and veterinarians were unable to cure it. The infection got into his bone and proved fatal, according to the federation.
2010-06-02 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
An "emergency action plan" to protect elephants announced in 2006 has yet to get off the ground, a Vietnamese provincial forest official said Wednesday. In the meantime, seven of the 15 elephants in his province of Dong Nai have died, he said. "I don´t understand why they are responding with the project so late," said Le Viet Dung, deputy director of the Dong Nai forest management department. "If they don´t do it quick, there will be no elephants to preserve." Le Viet Dung sai...
2010-05-31 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
A baby elephant found dead in the southern province of Dong Nai on Thursday was very likely poisoned, a forensic expert said Friday. The male elephant, weighing one ton, was found dead with its tongue sticking out, and tests found bleeding in its heart and liver.
2010-05-29 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
A three-year-old elephant was found dead on Thursday in a local residents mango orchard 100m from the edge of the Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve in southern Dong Nai Province. Rangers said that the 800-kilogramme animals carcass had been sent for an autopsy and the remains of some jackfruits, cassava, and mangoes had been found in its stomach.
2010-05-28 - Hai Phong, Vietnam.
Vietnamese police have detained two people who were caught smuggling 82 kilograms of elephant tusks from the central province of Nghe An to Hai Phong, a port city near China. Nguyen Huu Hong, 40 and Ngo Thanh Ly, 38, from Nghe An are being investigated for illegally transporting elephant tusks,Thai Binh Province police said.
2010-04-09 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A mature elephant was found dead Wednesday near a lake and a stream in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. Local residents found the elephant when catching fish in the stream in Ea Sup District. The body was stinking and its bones were broken into pieces, they said. Officials surmised that the elephant had been trampled on and killed by others in the herd, making it hard to identify the animals gender.
2010-03-21 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Vietnamese police have seized about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of ivory near the border with China, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Traffic police made the discovery after stopping a car early Friday morning, said Tuoi Tre newspaper, which did not say if any arrests were made. The police declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
2009-12-16 - Hanoi , Vietnam.
Vietnam plans to build an elephant hospital as part of a new reservation for the animals in the country's central highlands, a government official said Wednesday. Y Rit Buon Ya, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the province of Dak Lak, said the project would be developed between 2010-14.
2009-12-16 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Cong Hoan – Translated by Kim Khanh
A tourism and culture week themed “Legend of the Central Highlands Elephant” will be held in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak from December 16-20. Activities will also be held in the city’s districts of Krong and Buon Don (Don Village).
2009-11-27 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
There are only 80 elephants left in the wild in Vietnam, and they are in danger due to illegal hunting and deforestation, state media reported Friday. The state-run newspaper Lao Dong quoted experts at a Vietnam Forest Management Agency workshop on elephant preservation as saying the population was dropping fast.
2009-11-26 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
The Dong Nai provincial Forest Ranger Department in coordination with national parks in the southern region is seeking ways to raise public awareness of elephant conservation and expand the living environment for the animal. At a seminar on November 26, local and foreign scientists agreed that it is necessary to quickly implement the project on elephant preservation, approved by the Prime Minister in 2006.
2009-09-10 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
An elephant was found dead on Tuesday night in Dong Nai, the sixth such case in the last four months in the southern Vietnamese province, underlining the authorities’ failure to protect its elephant population.
2009-08-25 - Haiphong, Vietnam.
VIETNAMESE customs inspectors have discovered more than two tons of elephant tusks hidden in a shipping container full of snail shells from Kenya. Bui Hoang Duong, head of the customs inspection department at the northern port of Haiphong, said inspectors opened the container on Friday as part of enhanced scrutiny of shipping from Tanzania. The purge follows several recent cases of ivory smuggling.
2009-08-22 - Thanh Hoa, Vietnam.
Vietnamese police have seized almost 100 kilograms of ivory, the second seizure of its kind in recent weeks, state media reported on Saturday. Police found the 17 pieces of ivory weighing 94 kilograms (207 pounds) after they stopped a car travelling in the wrong lane on a highway in northern Thanh Hoa province, the Vietnam News said, citing traffic police.
2009-08-21 - Hanoi, Vietnam. Sahil Nagpal
Police in Vietnam have seized nearly 100 kilograms of elephant tusks concealed in a car headed for Hanoi, state media reported Friday. The state-run newspaper Lao Dong reported police in the central province of Thanh Hoa stopped a car Thursday for driving in the wrong lane. The police found sixteen elephant tusks weighing 94 kilograms hidden in the boot and under the chassis. Police arrested the driver on suspicion of smuggling, and seized the car and the tusks as evidence.
2009-07-29 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnamese customs officials have uncovered 200 kilogrammes (440 pounds) of elephant ivory tusks illegally imported from Kenya, official media reported on Wednesday. The tusks were found hidden in timber inside a container at the northern Hai Phong port, said Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) newspaper. Authorities are seeking the owner of the container, who did not turn up to receive the goods when they arrived in April, the newspaper said. It did not say who was listed as the receiver or giv...
2009-04-25 - Dong nai, Vietnam.
A herd of wild elephants recently gone astray is becoming increasingly bolder, encroaching on inhabited land in southern Dong Nai Province’s Vinh Cuu District, according to officials. The 13 elephants, which are being kept unfenced in Cat Tien National Park in Central Highland province of Lam Dong, left the park in search of food, Tran Van Mui, the park director, has said.
2009-03-22 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The Don Festival, called Buon Don in Vietnamese, is expected to take place from March 22-26 in the Buon Don District, said director of York Don Park, one of official members to join the festival. He said the festival would feature folk games such as buffalo stabbing, food and drink, and an elephant race.
2009-03-07 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnam customs officials have uncovered up to five tonnes of elephant tusks smuggled in from Tanzania, state media said Saturday. The tusks were found Friday hidden in around 114 boxes of plastic waste after being transported from Africa through Malaysia to Vietnam's northern Hai Phong port, said the Tuoi Tre newspaper. The Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Dang Tat The, a national wild animal expert, as saying the tusks were from African elephants. It was not yet clear if the tusks were for selling ...
2009-02-26 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
“Elephant culture” are the words the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dak Lak Province, Truong Bi, used to talk about the benefits that Dak Lak gain from elephants. According to Truong Bi, Don village currently has four old elephants which can’t participate in the upcoming elephant festival. Two others have been shot dead by wood thieves. He said that in five years, Don village would not have any elephant left. Elephants give Dak Lak a distinct cultural c...
2009-02-22 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Soaring demand for ivory from local and foreign consumers and a restriction of supply sent the prices of illegal ivory skyrocketing in Vietnam last year, an international survey released Monday said. The survey, An assessment of the illegal ivory trade in Vietnam, conducted by the wildlife trade monitoring organization TRAFFIC, said illegal ivory prices in Vietnam could be the world's highest with tusks reportedly selling for up to US$1,500 per kilogram and small, cut pieces selling for up to $1...
2008-08-31 - Dac Lac, Vietnam. Thu Huong
To ethnic minority groups living in the central highland province of Dac Lac, a ring made of hair taken from an elephant’s tail is far more than an ordinary ornament. Because most people consider it to be an amulet that is expected to bring them luck in love, local couples often use elephant hair as a pawn in the game of love. Although no one has ever been able to prove the reliability of such a rumor, rings plaited with elephant hairs are now appearing in many souvenir shops. But the con...
2008-08-04 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
Seven members of Y Ngo’s family in the central province of Dak Lak depend on one hectare of farmland. But their farm is all but destroyed, damaged by severe drought and wild elephants. “The area they trample destroys 10 times more than what they eat and there is no way rice can survive being stepped on by elephants,” said Ngo, a farmer in Ba Na Village of Ia J’loi Commune in the province’s Ea Sup District.
2008-07-30 - Dac Lac, Vietnam.
A herd of 40 elephants over the past few days destroyed over 30 hectares of crops in Ea R’loi and Ea Lop Village in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lac. According to Ea R’Loi’s People’s Committee, the animals have been showing up in the area since 2005. They usually roam around, destroying crops in the process, for a few days before leaving. No casualities were reported.
2008-06-12 - Dak Lak , Vietnam.
The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is the sole location in Vietnam where there remains the tradition of maintaining herds of tame elephants in its districts of Buon Don, Lac, Ea Sup, and Krong Nang. However, the population of tame elephants is sharply falling. In the past nearly two decades, many tame elephants have died of old age while there is no source of replacement. This fact has threatened the existence of the tame elephant herd in Dak Lak.
2008-05-30 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
An elephant regarded as the biggest in the Central Highlands’ Dak Lak Province, the land of elephants in Viet Nam, suffered a sudden death on Tuesday evening after reportedly eating grass from a field that had been sprayed with insecticide. The 68-year-old elephant, Y Trut, had won many prizes at local races and strength competitions. Y Trut, 7.4 tonnes in weight and 3.4m in height, was buried according to the customs of Tay Nguyen highlanders.
2008-02-28 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. T.N.Quyen
Police of Buon Me Thuot Town in the central highlands province of Dak Lak uncovered an illegal distillation of elephant bones by a local Wednesday. The offender, Vu Thanh Thiem, who was caught in the process of admixing the bones to create a type of medicinal glue, said the 231 kilograms of bones came from his younger brother Vu Thanh Tue who had purchased a dead circus elephant. Thiem, however, failed to present appropriate legal documents for the bones as requested.
2008-01-12 - VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam.
Three wild elephants that escaped from Vu Quang national park have been causing concern among hundreds of households in the two communes of Huong Dien and Huong Quang in the central province of Ha Tinh. A residential house destroyed by wild elephants in the central province of Binh Thuan. Since 1999, the elephants appeared on more than 100 occasions, killing 10 people and destroying 20 houses and 200ha of vegetables. The elephants have crushed motorbikes in their path and stormed into residentia...
2008-01-11 - Ha Thin, Vietnam.
Three wild elephants that escaped from Vu Quang national park have been causing concern among hundreds of households in the two communes of Huong Dien and Huong Quang in the central province of Ha Tinh. The elephants have crushed motorbikes in their path and stormed into residential houses, according to local authorities. Villager Nguyen Thi Phuong from Kieu hamlet of Huong Dien Commune said two elephants rushed towards her in the evening. My husband was out and I just managed to take the childr...
2007-12-25 - Central Highlands, Vietnam. Tran Ngoc Quyen
Amidst century-old tamarind trees in the quiet village of Jang Lanh in the Central Highlands, 95-year-old Ama Kong is as busy as ever. He is truly a living legend thanks to a 40 year career as Vietnam's most famous elephant tamer.
2007-12-18 - VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam.
The Central Highlands are very beautiful in spring, with white pansies blooming along the streams, rivers and forests. The villages in this region are already preparing for the holiday season in the spring that will last until the dry season. For the ethnic people, this is a relaxing time of year, with many leisurely activities to enjoy during the days and nights. The sounds of the gong and the drum invite everyone to join. Tourists from all over the country will be attracted to the numerous fes...
2007-12-17 - Saigon, Vietnam. Ngoc Minh
The Central Highlands is the land of elephants, with troupes of both tamed and wild elephants, and tourists can witness exciting elephant races every year on March 26 organized by the M’nong people, who are famous for their ability to tame wild elephants.
2007-10-24 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Authorities in a northern Vietnamese province are seeking government permission to shoot a domesticated elephant that has killed two handlers this year, an official said Wednesday. The Forestry Department of Thanh Hoa province sent a request to the Ministry of Agriculture last week asking for the go-ahead to kill the rare Asian elephant, which is more than 30 years old, according to Le Quoc Viet with the department. The elephant is very angry now and it may kill anyone getting close to it, Viet ...
2007-10-23 - Nhan Dan, Vietnam.
Quang Nam Central Province’s People’s Committee has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to approve a plan on the establishment of two new elephant and Sao La deer (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) preservation zones. Accordingly, the elephant preservation zone is to be located in a lowland area with an area of 18,765 hectares in Que Phuoc and Que Lam communes of Que Son district. This zone contains wild elephants, five special kinds of birds (only existing in this zone) and turtl...
2007-10-15 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The People’s Committee of Central Highlands Dak Lak province has decided to spend more than VND 8.5 billion (531,250 USD) from now until 2010 on preserving and developing its tame elephant population. Under the project, an elephant keepers’ club and a tame elephant herd preservation and development centre will be set up in the province. Measures to use elephants for tourism purposes, ensure a sustainable environment and prevent diseases for elephants as well as to reproduce elephants will al...
2007-10-15 - Lao dong, Vietnam.
The central province of Quang Nam has submitted a project to establish two endangered animal reserves to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for approval, the provincial People’s Committee said last Friday. The elephant reserve, covering an area of 18,765 ha in Que Son District, will be a habitat for elephants, five species of endangered birds, and endangered turtles and gray-shanked doucs.
2007-10-08 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Hoang Thien Nga
The People’s Committee of Dak Lak Province in the central highlands has approved a VND8.5 billion (US$528,500) project to preserve domesticated elephants in the region. Under the project, the province will establish reserve areas and found an association for elephant tamers and breeders, along with other agencies concerned with preserving the animal.
2007-09-16 - Nhon Hoa, Vietnam. Tien Phong
When I was young, Nhon Hoa had hundreds of elephants. Every village had elephants, from several to dozens of elephants. In 1993, Nhon Hoa had 16 elephants but now the number is zero, said Mr. Nay Tor, a village patriarch in Nhon Hoa. Nguyen Tan Thanh, Director of the Gia Lai Tourism Service Company, is one of the builders of the famous brand “Nhon Hoa elephant village”, which is widely known by local and international visitors who come to the Central Highlands.
2007-09-11 - Daklak, Vietnam. Tuoi Tre, Tuong Nhi
A herd of over 20 elephants has been destroying large tracts of paddy and corn fields in Daklak province in Vietnam’s central highlands with authorities unable to find a way to chase the animals away. Since last week more than 20 hectares belonging to some 25 families had been destroyed, officials in La Lop commune said. Several structures put up as guardhouses too have been destroyed. Vi Van Binh, one of the officials, said the herd was different from the ones that had wreaked havoc in previo...
2007-09-07 - Nghe An, Vietnam.
The central province of Nghe An has taken measures to protect wild elephants and ensure safety for local people and their properties that are threatened by the big animals. According to local rangers, two herds of wild elephants with around nine heads in the province in recent years have attacked residential areas and destroyed crops in Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Que Phong districts.
2007-09-03 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
The Central Highlands village of Buon Don is renowned throughout the country for importing the ancient Lao practice of elephant taming to the area centuries ago. Located nearly 50 km northwest from the city of Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak province and between the two branches of the Serepok River, Buon Don is home to the M’Nong, J’rai, Ede, Lao and Thai ethnic minority groups and for the last two centuries has been the centre of all elephant hunting and taming in Viet Nam.
2007-05-22 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Thien Truc
Deforestation and owners’ callousness have taken a toll on elephant populations both in the wild and in captivity in Vietnam’s central highlands, sending the giant animals to the brink of extinction. There are only a few hundred elephants left in the area compared with thousands a century ago, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources reports. Dak Lak province, once a pachyderm haven, now has just 50 elephants, mostly in captivity.
2007-05-21 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
An elephant in northern Vietnam has killed two handlers who had worked with the animal for almost 20 years, a local official said Monday. Ha Van Hoang, 46, was killed on the spot and 42-year-old Le Van Lanh died in hospital after the elephant gored both of them with his tusks Saturday, said Ngan Van Thiep, chairman of the Son Ha commune in Thanh Hoa province.
2007-04-29 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
50 years after its birth, Vietnamese circus seems to have come to a cul-de-sac. Old items, which used to be popular but are now unable to keep audiences awake are still being performed. The animal stock of the biggest circus troupe in the south isn’t very impressive either. There are only an old elephant, 4 skinny and tiny monkeys, and 5 or 6 dogs. It is yet an impossible dream to own such animals as tigers, lions or crocodiles.
2007-03-02 - Daklak, Vietnam. Tran Ngoc Quyen
A tame elephant killed its master Thursday in Daklak province in Vietnams central highlands by scooping him up with its trunk and hurling him down. Y BHiu Mlo, 58, a resident of the remote Ea Wel commune in Buon Don district, was feeding the male elephant in a nearby forest when it suddenly broke free of its chains and began to chase after him.
2007-01-31 - Hue, Vietnam. Bui Ngoc Long and Minh Phat
A 25-year-old elephant, a beast that has taken part in ritual processions in Hue ancient capital died last Saturday with a water pipe lodged in its gullet, said local authorities Wednesday. Nguyen Van Hung, head of Hue province’s animal health department, said the 4-ton animal had somehow gulped down two synthetic rubber pipes that then lodged in its esophagus.
2007-01-23 - HANOI, Vietnam.
Two young men drove motorbikes to the Lac Lake tourism area from Lam Dong Province on the morning of January 23. The guides there showed them how to ride elephants and instructed them on how to behave around the elephants. However, forgetting the instructions, one of the tourists, Tri, 22, ran toward an elephant after he had finished taking a picture and handed the camera to his friend who was sitting on the back of the elephant. At that moment, the elephant threw Tri to the ground and trampled ...
2007-01-11 - Nghe An, Vietnam. Ngọc Binh- Hoang Sang, VietNamNet Bridge
A huge elephant skeleton estimated to date back thousands of years has just been discovered in Khe Dinh River by a local farmer, Pham Van Dong, in Hamlet 4, Hong Son village, Do Luong district, Nghe An Province. Dong said that on December 14, 2006 while going to his rice paddy at around 1 o’clock, he saw what he thought was an upright iron wood log sticking out of the river. Finding it unusual, he dug around the place, and to his amazement, amongst layers of mud were more huge animal bones.
2006-12-18 - Nghe An, Vietnam. Khanh Hoan – translated by Minh Phat
Four wild elephants have been on a rampage in Vietnam’s central Nghe An province for the last 10 days, seriously injuring a man and destroying dozens of hectares of crops. Over 100 households in Bai Lim village in Anh Son district are threatened by the giant animals that seem to be slowly losing their fear of man.
2006-11-22 - Quang Nam, Vietnam. Vu Hoang (translated by Hoang Bao)
Four elephants Wednesday morning destroyed over 15 ha of rice and crops in central Vietnams Quang Nam province, local authorities said. The Tra Doc commune government said three adults and one baby elephant also destroyed dozens of sentry boxes guarding the fields in the commune. Early this month, the elephants demolished one house, but its seven occupants luckily escaped unharmed. A sentry squad has been formed to keep guard against the rouge animals. Quang Nam has been plagued by similar eleph...
2006-10-28 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
A rampaging herd of rare wild elephants is terrorizing two villages in central Vietnam, destroying crops and ignoring villagers' efforts to ward them off, local media reported Friday. No one has been hurt but the elephants have trampled and destroyed 50 hectares of cashew, rice and corn in the villages. It was the second incidence of crop-destroying elephants in Vietnam this year.
2006-10-12 - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
A stampede of four wild elephants have destroyed more than 10ha of crops and hundreds of ha of forest in the central province of Quang Nam’s Tra Doc Village over the past few days. No casualties have been reported. The elephants arrived in the area early last month and are still roaming the forests and mountains of Tra Doc Village.
2006-10-11 - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
A group of four wild elephants on Tuesday ravaged a mountainous village of farmers in Vietnam’s central province Quang Nam, reported local authorities. Luckily, no one has been injured or killed, but the elephants – including three mature and a young one – devastated over ten hectares of crops in the 5th village of Tra Doc commune in Bac Tra My district. The group appeared in the evening, apparently scavenging for food and vegetables, chasing locals around in the process.
2006-08-09 - Dong Nai, Vietnam.
The Dong Nai forestry watch team has warned inhabitants not to stay late in forest areas as many wild elephants were sighted. A herd of eight to ten elephants was continuously sighted in Dinh Quan District, Dong Nai Province for over a week. The elephants often came in search of food in the mountain fields close to the forests or Gia Canh and Thanh Son communes.
2006-07-23 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vietnamese authorities are establishing reserves for the country’s wild elephant population, which has been left without a stable source of food and shelter due to the destruction of their natural habitats. Nguyen Anh Tuan reports.
2006-07-12 - Chu Prong, Vietnam.
A herd of about 15 wild elephants, seen for the first time in Central Highlands Gia Lai province, have destroyed 24ha of crops in Ia Pior commune, Chu Prong district since June 30. From 1975 to the 1980s, Vietnam had 2,000 wild elephants; but by 2005, only 150 remained, mainly in the Vietnam-Laos and Vietnam-Cambodia border provinces. An urgent plan of action has been developed to preserve wild elephants, under which three special elephant sanctuaries will be set up, a state report said.
2006-07-01 - HA NOI, Vietnam.
Three men accused of involvement in a smuggling case involving 276 elephant tusks and 400kg of hawksbill turtle shells were sentenced in a Ha Noi Court yesterday. The smuggling ring was first uncovered by authorities in late 2004.
2006-05-19 - Dak Lak, Vietnam.
With bears now micro-chipped to protect them after release, elephants are being sized up for a similar program. The Prime Minister has approved a plan the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Forest Protection Department devised to micro-chip elephants as a measure to protect their dwindling numbers.
2006-05-02 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Just 76 wild elephants roam in Vietnam now, and scientists warn that if harsh measures are not taken, Vietnamese forests will have none of the beasts within 30 years. From 1975-1980, Vietnam had an estimated herd of 1,500-2,000 wild elephants, living in various regions of the country. These majestic beasts contributed not only to human endeavours, but to the biodiversity of Vietnam’s natural environment. Since 1980, the number of wild elephants has fallen rapidly as thousands of hectares of fo...
2006-02-16 - Saigon, Vietnam.
Ban Don, a M’Nong village by the Srepok River, is well-known throughout Southeast Asia as the native land of elephant hunters and trainers. Since the 18th century, locals have caught and tamed elephants here. Now Ban Don, or Don Village, some 36 kilometers west of Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highlands province of Daklak, is still famous for training elephants… so that tourists can ride on them! The elephants take visitors through villages, paddy fields and jungles, and visitors can lea...
2005-12-09 - HCM City, Vietnam.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Forestry Department is building three elephant reservations in a bid to save the mammal from extinction. The move is amidst the fact that the number of elephants in Viet Nam, one of the 13 Asian countries, where elephants habitat, has fallen dramatically over two and a half decades.
2004-12-11 - Hanoi, Vietnam. Channel News Asia
Vietnamese police have found some 730 kilogrammes of smuggled elephant tusks, which is banned for trading in the country. It was from a warehouse in Hanoi's Long Bien district that 276 elephant tusks were recovered. They had been chopped up and packed into 40 sacks, alongside dried fish, for easy transport. The haul is reportedly worth over 7.3 billion Vietnamese Dong, or about US$463,000. Police say it's the largest amount of smuggled tusks to ...
2004-12-06 - Ha Noi, Vietnam. Vietnam News Agency
Ha Noi (VNA) - Director of the Duc Minh Import Export Joint Stock Company Nguyen Duc Minh and his wife have been charged with the smuggling of 730 kg of elephant tusks, trade in which is banned in Viet Nam. Minh and his wife had fled right after the ivory was found at the company's warehouse on Nguyen Van Cu street in the Long Bien District, Ha Noi, early Dec. 4.
2004-10-26 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Vietnam News Agency
Thirty tamed elephants and 60 mahouts will participate in the 2004 Elephant Festival scheduled in Buon Don district of central highlands Dac Lac province on Nov. 6-7. Participating elephants will come from well known areas for elephant taming like the Yok Don national park, and Ea Sup, Buon Don, Lac and Krong Bong districts.
2003-06-04 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Nga Pham
Ama Kong is not an ordinary 88-year-old man. In a period of 40 years, he has captured and domesticated nearly 300 elephants - 298 to be precise. Descended from a Laotian tribal leader, who was believed to be the founder of the craft of elephant taming, Ama Kong reckons he has now captured and tamed more elephants than the Elephant King himself.
2024-07-10 - Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin Zoo has confirmed that a third elephant has tested positive for a virus which has left two other elephants dead over the last ten days. Eight-year-old Avani and seven-year-old Zinda died from E...
2024-06-18 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo
Tess, a 40-year-old Asian elephant at Houston Zoo, has been given the first-ever dose of an mRNA vaccine created by virologists at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to prevent the deadly elephant endot...
2024-04-26 - Blackpool, United Kingdom.
The latest round of pregnancy tests at Blackpool Zoo has revealed that two of its elephants are expecting babies. Mother and daughter Noorjahan and Esha are both pregnant and due to give birth in late...
2024-04-02 - Sen Monorom, Cambodia.
There was sad news from Mondulkiri Province, with the death of 2 year old elephant “Chi Pich” being announced. Sources from the Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment Organization (ELIE) said ...
2024-03-26 - Kochi, India.
Popular tusker Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan, 55, 55, died at Mangalamkunnu in Palakkad on Monday. The elephant owned by M A Haridasan had been under treatment for the past few months.
2024-03-23 - Kegalle, Sri Lanka.
The 76th elephant calf was born at the Rambukkana Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on March 20.This baby elephant was born to 32-year-old she-elephant Shanthi and 19-year-old Pandu at the Pinnawala Elepha...
2024-03-23 - Pretoria, South Africa.
In the ongoing efforts to curb poaching and snaring of animals within the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, South African National Parks (SANParks) is working to create more partnerships with neighbour...
2024-03-15 - , United States.
After weeks of voting and thousands of submissions, the Toledo Zoo has officially chosen the name of their precious baby elephant and we're personally thrilled about the news! Ladies and gentleman, Ki...
2024-03-09 - Tucson, United States.
A baby elephant was born at Reid Park Zoo. The zoo said Semba, the facility’s African elephant matriarch, gave birth to a 265-pound calf around 3:31 a.m. Friday, March 8. Reid Park Zoo said the calf...
2024-03-04 - Copenhagen, Denmark.
A female baby elephant in Copenhagen Zoo has been named Chin after the Tha Chin river in central Thailand. The elephant was born last week in the Danish zoo. The zookeepers, who take care of the young...
2024-02-29 - Alappuzha, India.
Evoor Kannan, the elephant known for his murderous rage and with a history of killing two mahouts is in a bad mood these days. He had been gentle under the care of his former Mahout Sharath Parippally...
2024-02-20 - Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands.
African elephant Punda has become the mother of a healthy elephant calf after a 22-month pregnancy. This is the third calf born in the Safari Park Beekse Bergen k in four months. Never before have thr...
2024-02-15 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The zoo said Tsuni died Thursday after a sudden, brief battle with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Her EEHV was detected through routine blood testing on Feb. 8, even though she presente...
2024-02-15 - Seoul, South Korea.
The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday. The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered fr...
2024-01-30 - Bangalore, India.
The Bannerghatta Biological Park is brimming with excitement as it welcomes a delightful new addition—a baby boy elephant calf. This adorable arrival brings the elephant count in the Bannerghatta zo...
2024-01-27 - Guruvayur, India.
Elephant Kannan, of the Guruvayur Devaswom Elephant Camp, a nine-time winner of the festival-related elephant race, has passed away. His demise was around 5:30 pm on Saturday. The tusker's age at the ...
2024-01-27 - Koh Nhek, Cambodia.
Villagers found a baby elephant dead in Koh Nhek district, Mondulkiri province in the middle of the forest on January 26, 2024, suspected of being shot. Mondulkiri Provincial department of environm...
2024-01-13 - Beijing, China.
A recent study published in the journal eLife has uncovered new findings on the development of dextrous trunks by indigenous elephants. According to Dr. Shi-Qi Wang, a senior author of the research, t...
2024-01-13 - Pekanbaru, Indonesia.
The Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan District, Riau Province, again lost one of its Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) after a poacher allegedly killed it for its tusks. The 46-year...
2024-01-11 - New York, United States.
In a narrow but sprawling curatorial space at the uptown museum, The Secret World of Elephants, now opened, tells the story of elephant species and their relatives through life-size models, videos, gr...
