We Are Laos has reported on the dwindling numbers of pachyderms in the “Land of a Million Elephants”, and the effort the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) has put into finding out why and what can be done.
Of the 800-some elephants remaining, about half are wild and the rest are domesticated, which ironically hinders reproduction. Due to growing infrastructure in the country, herds have become separated, thus confining gene pools. Poaching continues to plague the elephant population.
The ECC keeps searching for answers and solutions. Their conservation center in Sayabouly houses veterinarian services, and they’ve managed to breed offspring. The ECC is currently overseeing a “sof-release” of domestic elephants into the wild to collect a range of data.
The “New Statesman” recently published Why domestic elephants are being rewilded in Asia, to bring elephant fans up to speed on the latest developments on ECC’s endeavor.
Read the whole story here.
