Elephants fighting back in Vietnam

Elephants fighting back in southern Vietnam 

February 25, 2012

An elephant feeding itself on cassava from a farmer’s field in Hamlet 2, Phu Ly Commune, Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai

A herd of wild elephants have been ravaging farmers’ fields in the southern province of Dong Nai for a week-and-a-half, according to local forest management authorities.

The elephants have eaten up fields of corn, sweet potatoes, cassava and sugarcane in Hamlet 2 near the Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve in Phu Ly Commune, Vinh Cuu District.

The elephants usually show up at midnight and stay until the following morning, the residents said, adding they may have been unable to find food in the forests during the dry season.

Dang Van Nhon, chief of Hamlet 2, said he had sought permission from district government to establish a quick-reaction team to instruct residents on how to avoid the elephants and to protect the animals from being killed by terrified residents.

The elephants are living in a protected forest of around 30,000 hectares in Dong Nai, stretching from Cat Tien National Park to the Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve.

At least nine elephants have died in Dong Nai forests since 2009.

Local authorities, however, have not made any official announcements about the exact reasons for the deaths.

According to conservation experts, a shrinking habitat and scarce food resources for elephants have led to conflicts between humans and elephants.

The Dong Nai Forest Management Department said there are only around 15 wild elephants left in the province.

Experts have warned that the wild elephant herd in Dong Nai may become extinct in the near future.

By Kim Cuong, Thanh Nien News 

lCircus elephant kills 11-year-old girl October 17, 2011

Circus elephant kills 11-year-old girl 

October 17, 2011  about Social

A circus elephant trampled to death a girl in northern Vietnam Sunday afternoon when the girl sneaked into a yard to feed it.
The elephant belongs to a Vietnam Circus Federation troupe that was on a week-long tour in Lao Cai Province.
Eyewitnesses said the elephant was tied to a chain in the fenced backyard of the local cultural center waiting for the troupe’s scheduled last show there in the evening.
They said Nguyen Thao Oanh, a sixth grader of Le Quy Don Secondary School, and several other children sneaked into the backyard.
When Oanh was picking up a sugarcane, the elephant suddenly lifted her up with its trunk, threw her to the ground and trampled her repeatedly until she died, the witnesses said.
The children may have teased the elephant while they were feeding it, the witnesses said.

Pham Ngoc Trien, Thanh Nien News 

Elephant ride to Phu Cuong

Elephants amble through rare hill landscape to Phu Cuong waterfall

August 12, 2011  about News, Travel

VietNamNet Bridge – Duong Le Tinh and her group of American friends were thrilled to arrive at Phu Cuong Waterfall in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) Province of Gia Lai.

Out on a limb: A corner of Ayun Ha Reservoir, an attraction worth a visit in Chu Se District. (Photos: VNS)

“We chose the destination because we wanted to discover a beautiful virgin land by a less-travelled path, and decided to tour Dun Village on the backs of elephants,” said Tinh.

Tinh said her group had to properly greet the elephants before climbing up to sit on armchairs tied carefully on their backs.

“At first we were scare of falling, but soon we began to feel more comfortable. It was fun, particularly when the elephant carried us up a slope or knelt down to drink water at a stream,” said Tinh.

After a ride through the wilderness of Chu Se District, the elephants made their way through the nearby Don and Jun villages in the neighbouring province of Dac Lac, where located many houses on stilts of the Ba Na and Gia Rai ethnic groups.

Tinh’s friend Paul Buckle said he enjoyed the ride because the elephants led them past green terraces, fields of wildflowers, and mountain streams – many beautiful landscapes he had never seen before.

Then the elephants reached the main site of the tour: the Phu Cuong Waterfall about 3km outside Chu Se and 45km south of Pleiku city.

On top of the world: Visitors stand at the edge of Phu Cuong Waterfall.

With its source in the high mountains, the 45m waterfall feeds first into La Peet Stream and then the Ayun River, where the Auyn Ha irrigation construction project has a 3,700ha reservoir. This body provides the 253 million cubic metres of water that powers the Ayun Ha hydro-electric power plant.

“We spent half an hour enjoying the waterfall. The current and the spray were so strong that we felt as though we were standing inside a cloud.”

“It was like a white silk scarf surrounded by wild green trees and flowers, a striking sight against the blue sky,” said Tinh.

Tinh and her group continued touring the Ayun River by boat, fishing and listening to bird songs.

Buckle said what he liked most was talking with local people who settled along the river banks.

“The people were very friendly. They invited us to partake in their meal of boiled forest bamboo shoots and grilled lang fish, an unforgettable speciality of the region. The meal was so tasty that we all were full and happy,” said Buckle.

He said that in the evening, his group slept at the home of an old man, where the guests sang and danced with the local youth.

Main trunk line: Travellers sit on elephants to tour the beautiful Chu Se District in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

“Our host told us about the epics and gongs of Tay Nguyen [which has been recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage of humanity]. He promised to teach us how to play a gong the next day,” said Buckle, adding that his tour was both significant and memorable.

Buckle said he will bring his parents to the area by the end of the year.

Chairman of Chu Se District People’s Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said the district has encouraged travel agencies to increase tours to the area, so that more people can discover and enjoy its natural beauty.

Every year, hundreds of local and foreign travellers visit Chu Se to explore its nature and relax, said Linh.

An official from the Gia Lai Province’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, Phan Xuan Vu, said the province has called for investors to build more roads and facilities to attract more people to visit Gia Lai.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Elephant stabbed to death...

LookAtVietnam - A 38 year old male elephant, named Beckham, was killed in the Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Area in the resort city of Da Lat on April 24.

The elephant was found dead near Tuyen Lam forest with two cuts on his two hind legs. It is said that the elephant died because of losing blood from the two cuts. Its ivory and tail however were not removed.
Phan Thi Hoa, director of the Nam Qua Ecological Tourism Co., Ltd, which owns the elephant, said that the elephant was still healthy on April 23. Its corpse was detected by elephant keepers on the morning of April 24, around 1km from the Tuyen Lam tourist site.
The elephant was raised by Nam Qua Company to serve tourists in the Tuyen Lam tourist site.

Before the lunar New Year, this elephant was attacked twice and injured seriously, but fortunately survived the elephant tusk and tail hair hunters.
“We had to hire a veterinary doctor to take care of him for weeks. It had just recovered four months before it was killed,” said Hoa.
In August 2010, some elephants in Da Lat’s tourist sites were attacked to take tail hairs. It is said that elephant tail hairs are “sacred objects”, so elephants are often attacked.

Ninh Phan

Central Highlands elephants face extinction | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Central Highlands elephants face extinction | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "Don village was dubbed the “elephant kingdom” in the Central Highlands for its tradition of taming wild elephants and also worshiping them
An elephant carrying a tourist in Dak Lak Province.
But those days are gone
Elephants in the wild are being killed in large numbers now
for their parts and their few left to tame.

“When I was 18, I started to ride elephants to the forests
to catch young elephants. The elephants were like members of the family, they
were loved and no one ever did any harm to them,” recalled local resident Nay
Phai Lao, 80.

Tears flowing down his face, he said, “Now, seeing how
people kill elephants, I feel so sad.”

The elephants that he and his friends caught long ago are
aging, between 50-70 years old. Many of them are weak but the owners dare not
let them go back to the forests, where the elephants usually find their own
food and herbs.
Dan Nang Long, who owns the largest number of elephants in
Lak District, said the pachyderms will die if they are kept from the forest for
a long time, “but the hunters there will not spare them.”
Long said three of his seven elephants now don’t have a
tail, the hairs of which are considered by many people to bring good luck, and
another has lost its tusks.
Y Phong, another elephant owner, said an elephant without
the tail will quickly get weaker as the tail helps keep insects away.
“Tailess elephants have their longevity shortened by 15-20
years,” Phong said.
There are around 50 domesticated elephants left in Dak Lak,
the youngest one 20 years old.
Hunted
Reports at a scientific conference organized by the Forest
Management Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
in November last year said that Vietnam had around 80 wild elephants left, from
around 160 five years ago.

Experts said at the conference that if no action was taken immediately,
wild elephants in Vietnam would disappear in 10-20 years.

Many bodies of elephants have been found recently in Dak Lak
Province, which has the highest number of elephants in Vietnam. Police said they
were shot in the head with big bullets.
Two bodies were found in just one month late last year.
Early this year, a body was found with its trunk, tail and a
nail already cut. In July, another was found with bullets in its head. Its body
was complete and police suspected that the hunters didn’t take anything as
they’d failed to locate the elephant.

Most of the elephants were killed near the Cambodian border,
which is home to herds that have more than 30 members.

Tran Manh Hieu, a local police officer who has helped
investigate most of the elephant deaths, said none of the killers have been
caught as the area is large.

Le Van Trong, a local forest management official, said it’s
hard to control the border area.
Killed for trinkets “If you do not buy a ring made with the elephant tail hair
or ivory, you have never come here,” a vendor at Don village tells a tourist.
A ring with elephant tail hair embedded in it is sold for
between VND50,000-200,000 (US$2.56-10.25). A comb made of ivory costs VND2
million and a bracelet VND6 million.
Elephant tail hair, skin, teeth, bone and tusks have been
made into numerous products that are sold at a lot of booths in the province

Nguyen Duy Thai, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said he was attracted by
“lovely” elephants when he first came to Dak Lak. “But after walking around for
a while, I was surrounded by markets with elephant products.
Many vendors also present their business cards and promise
to supply the products in large quantities if needed.
Hated
Losing their habitat to human encroachment and hunted
relently by poachers, several elephants have recently entered villages and
trampled on crops, becoming the residents’ enemies.
“For more than three years, we have had to deal with the
elephants but I don’t know why more of them are coming this year and they’re
coming more often, every month,” said local resident Hoang Van Quan who just
had eight hectares of rice field destroyed by the pachyderms.
“We cannot stand it anymore. Either we live or the elephants
live.”
Muoi Dien, who once stood five meters from an elephant to
chase it away with her flashlight, said the forest rangers have asked them not
to harm the elephants and border guards have promised to help the residents
chase the elephants away.
But no one has come to help so far, Dien said.
Local authorities have also not supported them in making
good the loss of their crops, the residents complained.
Many families said if things continued this way, they would
either move or fight the elephants by any means

Source: Dantrinews

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Two Tonnes of Elephant Ivory Tusks seized in Vietnam

Nairobi — Efforts are being made to establish whether the two tonnes of elephant ivory tusks seized in Vietnam originated from Kenya.
The haul was destined for China, according to state-linked media reports. Customs officials claimed that the ivory was illegally imported from Kenya.
"We don't have independent factual information about the origin of the ivory beyond news reports. We are still making efforts to verify. "Therefore, we can't as yet confirm that the ivory originated from Kenya," Kenya Wildlife Service corporate affairs manager Paul Udoto said on Thursday.

The tusks were hidden in 400 plastic sacks and covered with dry seaweed, said the VNExpress online news site, citing the customs department.
It said the tusks were found in two containers at the northern Haiphong Port on Tuesday. Customs officials refused to comment on the case when reached by AFP.
There is a booming black market in African ivory linked to Asian crime syndicates, experts and delegates said in March at a UN wildlife trade meeting.
Ivory trade has been banned since 1989, with the exception of a few one-time sales, but there has been a dramatic surge in illegal trafficking since 2005.
Officials in Vietnam seized up to five tonnes of elephant tusks smuggled from Tanzania in March last year, state media said at the time.Last July, six businessmen were charged with smuggling 11 tonnes of ivory in Tanzania.

Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks

February 25, 2010 | 5:35 pm

BANGKOK — Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled as mobile phone parts in the country's largest ivory seizure.

Thai customs officials valued Wednesday night's haul at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 120 million baht ($3.6 million). It is a further sign that Thailand is emerging as a hub for the illicit trade.

Poaching of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years, with much of the illegal ivory exported to Asia.

Seree Thaijongrak, director of the investigation and suppression bureau for the Customs Department, said that acting on a tip, officials seized two pallets containing 239 tusks of African elephants.

The consignment, which originated in South Africa, was labeled as mobile phone parts destined for Laos -- apparently to confuse customs officials because Laos has an agreement with neighboring Thailand not to check cargo in transit.

A Thai national, however, attempted to pick up the cargo and was detained, Seree said. Customs officials suspect the tusks would have been crafted into trinkets and jewelry in Thailand.

"This is the biggest seizure we have ever had," Seree said. "This is a real accomplishment for Thailand. Normally, this would have gone right through but we got the tip-off."

Seree said smuggling of ivory from Africa is on the rise in Thailand as in much of Southeast Asia.

Ivory shipped to Thailand typically goes to carvers who fashion it into Buddhist statues, bangles and jewelry for sale to tourists or sale in other countries. Thailand is also a transit point for ivory forwarded to other markets like China.

Last month, Thailand arrested two Thai women accused of dealing in illegal African ivory, a day after an American and a Thai national were indicted in California on charges of smuggling ivory into the United States. Police believe the women supplied ivory to the Thai national, who prosecutors say sold several pieces of ivory on EBay, disguising shipments as gifts and toys.

The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned all international ivory trade in 1989. Traders in Thailand have thrived in part because the 1989 ban did not address domestic trade. That loophole allows them to deceive authorities by claiming that their African ivory came from domestic sources -- a tactic that is effective because it can be difficult without DNA testing to tell the difference between African and Asian ivory.

Authorities say 10 tons of African ivory were seized in Southeast Asia last year, including three seizures in Thailand.

On the Brink: Only 80 Wild Elephants Remain in Vietnam : EcoWorldly

Only 80 wild elephants are left in Vietnam, according to Vietnam’s state-run newspaper, Lao Dong. Experts at the Vietnam Forest Management Agency workshop, held earlier this week, reported the elephant population in Vietnam is in rapid decline. .

In 1975, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimated that up to 2,000 wild elephants were left in Vietnam. In 1992, the Vietnam elephant population dropped to between 400 and 600. Today, it is estimated only 80 elephants remain in the wild. The decline is being blamed on illegal wildlife trade, poaching and deforestation.

Sadly, poaching for ivory and bones is reportedly on the increase. And the increased demand for illegal ivory drives the price of the ivory up. While Vietnam banned the trade of ivory in the 1990s, a loophole allows stores to sell ivory left in inventory.

Over the years, human conflict, population and economic growth have all contributed to the decline in the elephant’s natural habitat. As its habitat shrinks, the elephants have reportedly become more aggressive. Several incidents of elephants charging villagers and destroying homes and crops have been reported. Elephants have been driven away or killed as a result of human-elephant conflicts.

Asian elephant photo Julie Langford

Thai elephant takes 1st steps with artificial leg

Motola, an elephant who lost a foot and part of her leg when she stepped on a land mine 10 years ago, happily if tentatively stepped out Sunday after being fitted with an artificial limb.
In her first stroll with the permanent prosthesis, the 48-year-old female walked out of her enclosure for about 10 minutes, grabbed some dust with her trunk and jubilantly sprayed it in the air.
"It has gone very well — she has walked around twice," said Soraida Salwala, secretary general of the Friends of the Asian Elephant, a private group. "She has not put her whole weight on it yet but she's OK."
Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp near the Myanmar border, a region peppered with land mines after a half-century of insurgency. Her mangled left front foot was subsequently amputated.
Motola had been wearing a temporary device for three years to strengthen her leg muscles and tendons and to prepare her for the permanent prosthesis. Soraida said Motola has otherwise been in fine health and that her once bony frame now weighs more than 3 tons.
Motola's initial operation used enough anesthetic to floor 70 people — a record noted in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records.
The artificial leg was made by the Prostheses Foundation, which also makes artificial limbs for human amputees.
Soraida's group established the Elephant Hospital in northern Thailand, where Motola was being treated, in 1993. The world's first such facility, the hospital has treated thousands of elephants for ailments ranging from eye infections to gunshot wounds.
Mine injuries are only one of many problems facing the domesticated giant, whose numbers have dropped from 13,400 in 1950 to today's estimated 2,500. The number of wild elephants has also dropped dramatically.
Traditionally the truck, taxi and logging worker of Thailand, the elephant's role has been eroded due to modernization. One saving grace has been tourism, which employs many elephants for trekking and other activities.

Thai elephant hurt by mine gets artificial leg

LAMPANG, Thailand — An elephant who stepped on a land mine 10 years ago was fitted Saturday for a permanent artificial leg.
Motola became a symbol of the plight of today's elephants, and her injury sparked international sympathy and donations.
Experts in Thailand were making a cast of the 48-year-old pachyderm's injured left front leg for a plastic prosthetic limb, which will be attached later Saturday.
"I do hope she will accept the new leg. It would be wonderful to see Motola and Baby Mosha walking together side-by-side," said Soraida Salwala, secretary general of the Friends of the Asian Elephant, a non-governmental group.
Mosha, also a land mine victim, became the world's first elephant with an artificial leg, attached in 2007. Soraida said Mosha, now a 3-year-old, is faring well and has outgrown three of her prosthetic devices.
Both elephants have been cared for at the Elephant Hospital, set up by Soraida's group in 1993. The world's first such facility, the hospital has treated thousands of elephants for ailments ranging from eye infection to gunshot wounds.
Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp along the Myanmar-Thailand border, a region peppered with land mines after half a century of insurgency. Her mangled foot was amputated, and she hobbled on three feet until fitted with a temporary, canvas shoe-like device two years later.
Motola's initial operation used enough anesthetic to floor 70 people — a record noted in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records.
"It has been 10 years now, but in all these long years Motola enjoyed a happy life, walking out of her shelter for a sun bath," Soraida said.
Soraida said Motola has otherwise been in fine health, with her once bony frame now weighing more than 3 tons.
The artificial leg has been constructed by the Prostheses Foundation, which also makes cheap but effective artificial limbs for human amputees.
A number of elephants have had land mine injuries. But that is only one of many problems facing the domesticated giant, whose numbers have dropped from 13,400 in 1950 to today's estimated 2,500. The number of wild elephants has also dropped dramatically.
Traditionally the truck, taxi and logging worker of Thailand, the elephant has lost most of its jobs to modernization. One saving grace has been the tourism industry, which employs large numbers for elephant trekking and other activities.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All

Thai Elephant Stomps Three Workers To Death

An elephant has stomped three rubber plantation workers to death in southern Thailand, police have said.
The female beast first crushed a 44-year-old male worker who was working in a farm on Wednesday morning, police Lieutenant Sonjit Ma-ou told reporters.
He said: "It then freely wandered into another plantation a few kilometres away and attacked a woman (aged 38).
"Her husband saw it charging toward her, grabbing her body with its trunk and hurling her on the ground before stomping on her body."
Somjit said another victim, a 51-year-old woman, was found dead in a nearby plantation later in the morning.
"There was no witness in the last case, but we found footprints of the beast and from the manner in which she was killed, we believe it was an attack by the same elephant," he said.
The attacks happened in Trang province, where the animal worked pulling rubberwood.
The 38-year-old elephant called Natalie was eventually recaptured by her handler.
"All three victims died instantly after she stamped on their chests and stomachs, breaking their ribs," Sonjit went on.
The authorities were investigating whether the handler was negligent in letting the animal wander free.
It was unclear what might have prompted the rampage, but Sonjit said the elephant had previously attacked and wounded at least three other people in the area.
Working elephants in Thailand are typically used for tasks like logging, but a growing number are used as tourist attractions on the streets of Bangkok and at camps around the country.

Tonnes of elephant tusks smuggled into Vietnam: reports

HANOI (AFP) — 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 in Vietnam or if they were smuggled in for onward movement, the papers said, but officials were chasing the owner of the goods.

Ivory and ivory-based products sell well in Vietnam, with the main buyers including Chinese, Thai and local and overseas Vietnamese, wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic said last month.

According to a Traffic survey, ivory prices in Vietnam could be the world's highest, with tusks reportedly selling for up to 1,500 dollars per kilogram and small, cut pieces selling for up to 1,863 dollars per kilogram.

The trend has put elephants in Indochina under increasing threat, it said, adding that wild elephant numbers in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia dropped from an estimated 6,250 in the late 1980s to 1,510 in 2000.

Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992 but shops can still sell ivory dating from before the ban. This allows some to restock illegally with recently-made carved items, the organisation said