Dak Lak: Domestic elephants enjoy buffet on World Elephant Day
The Dak Lak centre for elephant conservation, wildlife rescue, and forest protection management on August 12 offered a buffet to the herd of domestic elephants in the Central Highlands province’s Lak district as part of an event marking World Elephant Day.
The elephants 'attend' the special feast. (Photo: VNA)
Dak Lak (VNA) – The Dak Lak centre for elephantconservation, wildlife rescue, and forest protection management on August 12 offered a buffet to the herd of domestic elephants in the Central Highlandsprovince’s Lak district as part of an event marking World Elephant Day.
Aiming to raise public awareness of protection andconservation of the animal, the annual event also entailed interactiveactivities between mahouts and visitors.
Tran Xuan Phuoc, head of the centre, elaborated that Dak Laknow houses 36 domestic elephants, with 14 of them are in Lak and theremainder in Buon Don district. Due to such limited number, reproductionbecomes difficult, posing challenges to conservation and species development.
The centre has been collaborating closely with organisationsand mahouts to ensure proper care and welfare for the elephants, he said.
Thecelebration of World Elephant Day on August 12 is also an opportunity forlocals and tourists to enhance their awareness of elephant conservation and worktogether in building elephant-friendly tourism models to ensure the well-beingof the animal helping conserve the domestic elephant population in Dak Lak.
According to statistics, the number of domestically raisedelephants in Dak Lak has significantly decreased over time. Starting fromaround 502 individuals in the early 1980s, the population has dropped to just36 as of 2023./.
The People’s Committee of the central highlands’ province of Dak Lak and the Animals Asia Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on adopting an elephant-friendly tourism model. The MoU aims to end the use of elephant rides and other activities affecting the welfare of elephants in tourism and at festivals, contributing to conservation efforts in the province.
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The elephants 'attend' the special feast. (Photo: VNA) 
