Dong Nai: Elephant reared in semi-wild pregnant for the first time

NDO—For the first time in Vietnam, an elephant raised in semi-wild area of the Vuon Xoai eco-tourism zone in Phuoc Tan Commune of the city of Bien Hoa in the southern province of Dong Nai has become pregnant.

A wild elephant in Dong Nai.
A wild elephant in Dong Nai.

Dong Nai Forest Protection Department on Monday announced that ultrasound results by Thai experts showed that the elephant had been pregnant for nine months.

The 25-year-old individual is an Asiatic elephant and has been raised alongside a male elephant at the resort. She has been placed in intensive care by specialists.

According to experts, that elephants can be conceived in a semi-wild environment is a good sign for efforts to conserve Asian elephants in Vietnam, which are already experiencing a rapid decrease in their population.

Forests in Dong Nai’s natural reserve are currently home to an Asian elephant herd of about ten individuals.

In recent years, because of their shrinking habitat, elephants have regularly gone to terraced agricultural areas in search of food, destroying people’s crops.

Several elephants have died due to diseases and the conflict between them and humans.