Domestic elephant to be taken to Yôk Đôn National Park

Yok Đôn National Park is the new habitat for the elephant. — Photo truyenhinhdulich.vn

ĐẮK LẮK — A man in Lắk District, the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Đắk Lắk will hand over his family-owned elephant to the provincial Centre for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management, following the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF)-supported progra妹妹e.

Director of the centre Trần Xuân Phước said that the elephant, named Y Khun, will be taken to Yok Đôn National Park after Tết ( Lunar New Year). The  四0-year-old male elephant was raised by Đặng Vân Long's family and used to give rides to tourists.

During the pandemic, the elephant lived in a forest but struggled to find food so Long decided to hand him over to the centre.

The elephant’s owner will be paid VNĐ 七00 million (US$ 二 九, 六 六0) for the animal.

This is the eighth domestic elephant collected by the centre, part of the cooperation progra妹妹e between Đắk Lắk Province authorities and the AAF.

Through AAF funding, from  二0 二 二, the Đắk Lắk Province authorities have agreed to spend more than VNĐ 五 五. 四 billion ($ 二. 二 million) to convert the model of elephant-riding to elephant-friendly tourism. The work aims to preserve elephant herds.

For many years, tourists riding elephants has affected the health, life expectancy and number of elephants in the area.

According to the centre, the province has about  三 七 domestic elephants and  八0- 一00 wild elephants, a  九0 per cent decrease compared to  一 九 八0. — VNS