Sak Surin moved to new home in the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre

2023-08-18 - Lampang, Thailand.

The Thai elephant, recently repatriated from Sri Lanka, Sak Surin, was moved to a new home today (Friday), at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province, after the completion of its 30-days at the quarantine centre. Suratchai Inwiset, director of the National Elephant Institute, said the transfer of Sak Surin to his new home, which is just a stone’s throw from the quarantine centre, went smoothly and took only about half an hour.

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Sak Surin will not be returning to Sri Lanka : Varawut

2023-07-05 - Lampang, Thailand.

It is out of question that Sak Surin, now the most famous elephant in Thailand, will have to return to Sri Lanka, as he is now under the patronage of HM the King, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa on Wednesday. Commenting on a call from a senior monk in Sri Lanka for Bangkok to return the elephant once he fully recovers, Varawut said the matter is not even open for discussion.

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Tusker Muthu Raja (Sak Surin) airlifted to Thailand

2023-07-04 - Lampang, Thailand.

On 2 July 2023 at 07.00 hrs. the Tusker, Muthu Raja (Sak Surin), was transported from Sri Lanka to Thailand for medical treatment and rehabilitation by Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane, with cooperation from the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand, the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand and the relevant authorities of Sri Lanka. The Tusker arrived safely at Chiangmai International Airport, Thailand, on the same day, and later...

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13 forest dept. staff from Tamil Nadu complete training at Thai Elephant Conservation Center

2023-02-14 - Lampang, Thailand.

Keeping in mind the well-being of elephants, a total of 13 mahouts (trainers) and cavadis or assistants to mahouts from Tamil Nadu were sent to Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang for training in the scientific management of these animals in captivity. Those sent for training were chosen from elephant camps at Theppakadu in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Kozhikamuthi in Anamalai Tiger Reserve. On their return the 13 men were felicitated at a function held in Vandalur’s Arignar Anna Zoolo...

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Mighty Minnie! Viewers left "in tears of joy" as baby elephant who contracted a deadly disease is nursed back to health by her devoted carer who hid medicine in her fruit at Thai animal hospital

2020-09-04 - Lampang, Thailand. CLAIRE TOUREILLE

Channel 5 viewers were left in 'tears of joy' after following the fate of a baby elephant at a Thai elephant hospital last night. Two-year-old Minnie was being treated for the Elephant Herpes Virus, which can kill the animals, at the Lampang's Elephant Hospital where the show was filmed.

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More captive elephants to be released into the wild in Lampang

2016-10-10 - Lampang, Thailand.

The Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will release captive elephants into the wild on the auspicious occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s 84th birthday anniversary, the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) said today.

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Broken tusk missing after elephant killed in bus crash

2016-10-03 - Lampang, Thailand.

One tusk of a pet bull elephant killed in a crash with an inter-provincial bus in Hang Chat district is missing, a senior police officer said on Sunday. The left tusk, about 70cm long and weighing 2kg, broke off after Plai Udom, 8, was killed when the bus rammed into it on late Friday night. Since the crash, the broken tusk has not been found, Pol Lt Col Somboon Yaya, deputy investigation chief at...

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Elephant killed, driver badly hurt in bus crash

2016-10-01 - Lampang, Thailand.

A male elephant was killed and a man badly hurt when an inter provincial bus rammed into it in Hang Chat district late Friday night. All passengers on board the bus were unhurt.

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Elephants Will Get New Artificial Legs Soon

2016-03-25 - Lampang, Thailand.

The prosthetic leg factory, just for elephants, will soon be operating at Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand. This is a unique and wonderful facility that can make and repair custom-fit artificial limbs for elephants who need them.

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Elephant hospital set up in Way Kambas Lampung

2015-11-07 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Indonesia has set up a special hospital at Way Kambas Park in Lampung, Sumatra, to treat the Sumatran elephant. The elephant hospital named Prof Dr Ir Rubini Atmadijaja Hospital will also function as a facility for supporting conservation efforts, education and research on the Sumatran elephant, the parks public relations coordinator, Sukatmoko said here Saturday.

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Israeli zoo donates to Thai elephant hospital with check in elephant’s trunk

2015-11-06 - Lampang, Thailand.

Thai Ambassador to Israel Angsana Sihapitak received a $1,500 donation from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo for an elephant hospital in Lampang, Thailand. The check was delivered Thursday by an Asian elephant named Tamar, who presented it to the ambassador in her trunk.

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Beloved Elephant Yongki Killed by Ivory Poachers, Sparks Outrage

2015-09-29 - Lampung, Indonesia.

According to AFP, it’s suspected that Yongki, a 35-year-old Sumatran elephant who helped patrol Indonesian jungles, died of poisoning at the hands of poachers. His maimed and bloodied body was found nearby a camp at the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park where he had lived.

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What have you done to my elephant?

2013-10-04 - Lampang, Thailand.

Naetiwin Amorsin, the owner of a four-year-old female elephant, Phang Taengmo, submitted a complaint with Surapong Kongchantuk, a member of the Lawyer´s Council of Thailand’s human rights committee, on Monday. The mahout asked for legal action against the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) for unfairly confiscating his elephant, and for putting the animal at risk of "imminent death" because of poor treatment

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Two baby Phuket elephants free to go back to work

2012-11-29 - Lampang, Thailand.

While baby elephants Joey and Popeye are now back living with their mother in the government-owned Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC) in Lampang, Somchok from Phu Thai Review Souvenir Market in Chalong and Nampetch from Laguna Excursions in Cherng Talay - who were subjected to similar DNA tests - have been found to have been acquired legally and have returned to their respective places of work today

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Most captive elephants suffering in Thailand?

2012-11-27 - Lampang, Thailand. Apinya Wipatayotin

Most elephants living in captivity across the country suffer from work overload, malnutrition, and poor living conditions, says the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre. Sittidet Mahasawongkul, head of the Lampang-based centre´s elephant hospital yesterday said he and his team recently conducted elephant health check-ups at several elephant camps and found most of the animals were ailing due to poor care. There are about 2,000 captive elephants in shelters across the country.

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Elephant Hospital to Be Built in Lampung

2012-01-31 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan broke new ground on Monday on the construction of Asia’s first elephant hospital, to be built in the Way Kambas National Park in Lampung. The 1,300-square-kilometer park is home to around 180 Sumatran elephants, a species that was last week listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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DNA database to protect elephants

2012-01-30 - Lampang, Thailand.

Preecha planned to build a DNA database on 4,000 or so domesticated elephants in order to stop people taking over identity papers of deceased pachyderms and replacing them with elephants taken in the wild. After a Wednesday press conference to discuss the February 35 elephant fair at the Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang´s Hang Chat district, Preecha said he would contact the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of issuing elephant identification papers, for information about the be...

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Lam Dong: Three charged with selling dead elephant’s ivories

2011-05-11 - Lam Dong , Vietnam.

The Lam Dong Province People’s Procuracy has charged Phan Thi Hoa, director of the Nam Qua Eco-Tourism Co., Ltd., and two other with selling ivories of a dead elephant. Hoa, 52, from Lam Dong is now banned from leaving her residence, while Phan Dac Mau Dai, 33, also from Lam Dong and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, 36, from Dong Nai Province, will be detained for 2 months for investigation.

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Biggest Animal Hospital to be Built

2010-10-25 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the central government will soon build the biggest animal hospital in South East Asia. The construction will begin in 2011 at the Way Kambas National Park, Lampung. "The architectural design has been completed and the hospital, intended for wild and domestic animals, can soon be realized,” said Zulkifli after launching the program "Plant One Billion Trees" in Lampung yesterday.

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Elephant has foot blown up by landmine

2010-09-15 - Lampang, Thailand.

An eight-month-old elephant injured by a landmine is receiving treatment at an elephant hospital in Northern Thailand. The male calf, Pangboon, stepped on a landmine in Myanmar on Monday. It has been following its logging elephant mother to work in the forest along the Thai-Burmese border. With its right front foot shredded, Pangboon is the 14th landmine casualty to be treated at Thailand´s Friends of the Asian Elephants Hospital in Lampang this year.

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Vets treat elephant land mine victim in Lampang, Thailand

2010-08-05 - Lampang, Thailand.

Veterinarians were treating the latest land mine victim from the embattled Thai-Myanmar border Thursday, a 22-year-old female elephant whose foot was blown off by the explosion. "We have now monitored her condition for 48 hours after we cleaned the wound and injected pain killers. We will give her a tetanus shot later today. Overall, she is a good condition. She is obedient and can eat normally," said Dr. Preecha Phuangkam, a veterinarian and the hospital director.

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International training course on Asian Elephant Breeding and Health Management in South East Asia

2010-05-24 - Lampang, Thailand.

At the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand with practical training and field work at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, National Elephant Institute Forest Industry Organization and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, Doi Pha Muang Wildlife Sanctuary, Lampang, Thailand. Distance learning: 26 April – 10 May 2010 (Home country: Internet-based) 2) Lectures & Practical training: 24 – 28 May 2010 (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

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Your morning adorable: Elephants canoodle at new Thai elephant retirement home

2009-11-23 - Lampang, Thailand. Lindsay Barnett

Thailand's new Pang La Elephant Rehabilitation Center officially opened over the weekend, becoming the first facility of its kind in the country known for its love affair with elephants. The center, in Thailand's Lampang province, plans to care for up to 200 elderly and disabled Asian elephants; currently, about 30 elephants call it home, including several that are partially or completely blind, according to the Bangkok Post.

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Thailand sets up nursing home for elderly elephants

2009-10-20 - Lampang, Thailand.

Thailand has set up its first nursing home for elderly elephants in Lampang province, already the home of two elephant hospitals, media reports said Tuesday. The Pang-La Nursing Home for Aged Elephants will be officially opened Nov 21, in Ngao district of Lampang, 490 km north of Bangkok, the Bangkok Post reported. Situated on a 153-hectare plot with its own small river for elephant bathing, the shelter will be operated by the Forest Industry Organization (FIO), which also runs the Elephant Hosp...

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Last three day at the camp.. What am I going to do in the future?

2009-09-27 - Lampang, Thailand.

It's very sad to know that " Loong min" has about three day left staying at Thai Elephant Conservation Center. His eyes looked very sad that he told me that he has to retire from his job after devotedly works with elephant over 42 years. I remember his last elephant was Pang Mee who died many year ago and Loong Min was assigned to work as the baby elephant trainer. He trained many elephant in the past such as Nau Oon, Areena, Poopan, Ai and many more. I think If I were him I could not make my mi...

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Way Kambas residents live in fear of elephants

2009-09-26 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Villagers around the Way Kambas National Park (TNWK) in Lampung have been living in a state of fear over the past few days due raging wild elephants destroying their crops. The herd of around 50 elephants has also damaged the residents' huts and chicken coops. Villagers are also gripped with fear because the elephants are no longer afraid of torches and bamboo drums, which were successfully used in the past to drive them away.

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Thai elephant damages newly fitted artificial limb

2009-08-20 - lam, Thailand.

Thai elephant damages newly fitted artificial limb
An elephant fitted with an artificial limb 10 years after stepping on a land mine has had a minor setback, damaging the device attached to her left front leg. Soraida Salwala of the private group Friends of the Asian Elephant said today that 48-year-old Motola bent the prothesis when she lay down on it.
Motola, who weighs three tons, was fitted with the custom-made device Sunday at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang, northern Thailan...

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Thai elephant hurt by mine gets artificial leg

2009-08-15 - Lampang, Thailand. APICHART WEERAWONG

Motola, a female elephant who stepped on a land mine 10 years ago and endured painful operations, was fitted Saturday in Thailand for a permanent artificial leg. The 48-year-old pachyderm became a symbol of the plight of today's elephants, and her injury sparked international sympathy and donations.
Experts were making a cast of her injured left front leg for a plastic prosthetic limb which will be attached later Saturday.

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Mahout training kicks off to preserve elephants

2009-08-09 - Lampang, Thailand.

Thailand's National Elephant Institute on Sunday launched a training programme for mahouts across the country in an attempt to raise elephant quality of life and help preserve the decreasing population of the huge animal. The training is co-sponsored by the National Elephant Institute, the Forest Industry Organization (FIO) and Asia House Foundation and is being held at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang province

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The medical inventor

2008-09-16 - Lampang, Thailand. PICHAYA SVASTI

At the Elephant Hospital in Lampang, 31-month-old Mo Cha, who stepped on a landmine in Burma and lost her front right leg two years ago, walks and plays in a pool of sand after being fitted with the world's first artificial leg for pachyderms. She lifts and curls her trunk as if to thank Dr Therdchai.

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Injured Thai elephants find loving care at pachyderm clinic

2008-06-05 - Lampang, Thailand. Mohit Joshi

"Hey, little one, come to mama," chirps Soraida Salwala. The "little one" is a female elephant calf named Mosha, and she knows that Soraida never visits her empty-handed. She approaches Soraida to find a treat of bananas. Soraida has cared for the calf for the past 18 months after Mosha tripped on a landmine in the jungle near Thailand's border with Myanmar. The explosion almost severed her right foreleg, and she was brought to Soraida's elephant clinic when she was 7 months old.

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Photo of Singha Khon and her second baby...

2008-05-17 - Lampang, Thailand. Supat Sutti

Nau Oon is very cute baby elephant of greatest mother Singha Khon as she has very high possibility of pregnancy as told by the mahout.. Nau Oon was born at Thai Elephant Conservation Center on 12 of June 2004, its about 4 years ago in the forest. I remember that Singha Khon she gave birth of her second baby by her own self and the day before she still worked in our mahout training course and we brought the elephant into the forest with the tourists and next day the Mahout Berm he just knocked my...

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The Elephant Reintroduction Foundation: City elephants enjoy a guided return to nature in Lampang

2008-05-12 - Lampang, Thailand. Pridiyathorn Devakula

I have concentrated on economic issues for many weeks. Today, I would prefer to write a non-economic story about nature that I encountered recently, an occasion that deserves praise. Last Monday, I had a chance to visit the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation's camp at Ban Hua Thung in Lampang's Hang Chat district. There, I witnessed the way that elephants are being trained to live in the wild, eating the plants available to them in the forest. Feeding by humans is not allowed. These elephants we...

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Sampran,6, a wild bull elephant who was caught in a poachers snare is taken into captivity and has his badly infected foot x-rayed by Thai vets trying to save his life

2008-03-13 - Lampang, Thailand. BARBARA WALTON

Sampran,6, a wild bull elephant who was caught in a poachers snare has his badly infected foot x-rayed by Thai vets trying to save his life, at the Lampang National Elephant Institute hospital in Lampang, northern Thailand, 06 March 2008. Badly dehydrated and thin, the young elephant has about a 50 percent chance of survival and was bought into the hospital for emergency care after the infection, monitored over the past two years by Thai rangers in the Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary where h...

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Elephant Sampram doomed to crippled life

2008-03-13 - Lampang, Thailand.

Veterinarians on Thursday ruled out surgery for Sampran, the 6-year-old elephant whose forefoot has swollen to a monstrous size after being injured in a hunter's trap two years ago. "We can't operate on the foot because there would be too much blood loss," said Dr Sittidej Mahasawangkul after taking an x-ray of Sampran's damaged foot at Lampang National Elephant Institute hospital in the North. Sampran, a wild elephant, was finally brought to the hospital for treatment Thursday after suffering f...

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The National Elephant Institute in northern province of Lampang

2008-02-10 - Lampang, Thailand.

With a fantastic performance about to start, local and foreign tourists were waiting to view the elephant show and give the stars their favorite food as rewards. The elephants greet the audience and gather things for the mahouts. They might sometimes be lazy but they never go on a rampage and disappoint new mahouts because these friendly animals have been well trained since they were young.

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King’s Cup Elephant Polo named one of Thailand’s ‘Seven Amazing Wonders’

2007-11-19 - Lampang, Thailand.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has named the King’s Cup Elephant Polo as one of Thailand’s “Seven Amazing Wonders” in a new promotional campaign aimed at capturing the nation’s unique attractions. The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is the sixth largest event on the TAT calendar. Organised by Anantara Resorts, the tournament was first introduced in 2001 as a charitable endeavour to assist country’s National Elephant Institute in Lampang, Northern Thailand. The event has rais...

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Her Majesty donates Bt300,000 to help baby elephant

2007-08-08 - Lampang, Thailand.

Her Majesty the Queen has donated Bt300,000 from her personal fund to assist a month-old elephant whose mother cannot produce milk at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC) in Lampang's Hang Chat district. Her Majesty granted Bt300,000 to buy milk powder for the baby elephant. Donations for the baby elephant from the public had reached about Bt400,000. The TECC will hold a ceremony to receive the donation on Friday.

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Squatters to be moved to avoid human-elephant conflict

2007-04-20 - Lampung, Indonesia. Oyos Saroso H.N

The Lampung provincial government has announced plans to relocate residents of villages that have been attacked by elephants from South Bukit Barisan National Park. Wild elephants have killed seven people in the West Lampung and Tanggamus regencies in the last year, as well as destroying villages and crops.

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Lampang hosts first artificially inseminated elephant birth in Asia. Worlds first successful artificial insemination of elephant using frozen semen.

2007-03-08 - Lampang, Thailand.

The 100-kilogram male baby Asian elephant was born late Wednesday at the Elephant Hospital at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in the northern town of Lampang, said Sittidej Mahasawangkul, head of the hospital. This is the first time that artificial insemination is successfully carried out in Thailand and in Asia, and first time ever with frozen sperma.

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Thailand fights to save elephants

2007-03-01 - LAMPANG, Thailand. Evan Osnos

Kod, a pioneering elephant, is not a born leader. The 3-ton, 25-year-old is known for neither bravery nor cleverness; she recoils from dogs and chickens. Her paintings are generously described as abstract. But if all goes well, Kod will make Thai history next month when she gives birth to the nation's first elephant produced by artificial insemination. A successful birth would be a milestone for a country scrambling to save its most treasured animals from an alarming decline.

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Elephants in the Golden Triangle

2007-01-24 - Lampang, Thailand. Musings

But the best part about this leg of the trip was the elephants! We chose the hotel we did because they work in conjunction with the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, and have a dozen elephants on their grounds. Frederick and I took a one-day "Mahout Training Course" where we were each given an elephant and taught some basic commands. We learned a couple of different ways to get on and off the critters, got to ride the elephants around the camp, and at the end of the day, we (along with the maho...

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Elephant Reintroduction Foundation Blog

2006-11-18 - Lampang, Thailand.

The Mission of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation is to realize the Vision of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, to solve the problems facing all elephants in Thailand through returning domestic elephants to the wild and restoration of the habitat of wild elephants, as well as promoting appropriate management of all elephants in Thailand.

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Artificial insemination of elephant succeeds first time in Thailand

2006-08-29 - Lampang, Thailand.

Thai veterinarians have succeeded in impregnating an elephant by artificial insemination for the first time in Thailand. The baby elephant is expected to be born in March next year. The artificial insemination was carried out by implanting fresh sperm into a female elephant named "Pangkod".
Dr Sitthidej Mahasawangkul, head of the Elephant Hospital at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre said that the Thai veterinary team is attempting to develop an artificial insemination technique usin...

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Farmers killed by wild elephants in Sumatra

2006-08-21 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Wild elephants ran amok and trampled to death four farmers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The farmers were killed in Lampung province, about 200km (125 miles) northwest of Jakarta, the capital. Waktre, an elephant conservationist at the Lampung Wildlife Conservation Society, said that the cause was a shortage of food for the elephants and more human encroachment into wilderness set aside for the animals.

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Elephant baby of Mogae-Grey Stepped On Landmine in Thailand

2006-06-11 - Lampang, Thailand. Soraida Salwala, Friends of the Asian Elephant, FAE's Elephant Hospital

Mogae-Grey, a thirty-year-old cow was hired to haul logs across the Thai border. She walked with her baby alongside her when the baby stepped on a landmine. Her injuries are quite severe.

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Manguay-Lowin in the Elephant Hospital Lampang euthanized after collaps

2006-05-29 - Lampang, Thailand. Soraida Salwala, Friends of the Asian Elephant. FAE's Elephant Hospital

Manguay-low, who shared tragic injuries from landmines in 2003, collapsed Tuesday 23rd May at 5.30. We tried to help her get up but she had lost all her strength. I had to decide to let her go peacefully

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ELEPHANTS IN MAETANG SANCTUARY HAVE FALLEN ILL WITH CONSTIPATION

2006-01-23 - Lampang, Thailand.

Elephants at an elephant sanctuary in Maetang district in Chiang Mai have fallen sick with bloated stomachs, and veterinarians suspect the cause to be from changing of their diet. Veterinarians at "elephant friend" foundation in Lampang province have evacuated the bowels of 30-year-old Khamdee to help him excrete waste after the elephant had not eaten for days due to constipation. Prior to Khamdee, the foundation had treated 6 elephants all from the same elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai's Maetan...

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Two elephants shot dead in BANDARLAMPUNG

2006-01-02 - Lampung, Indonesia.

Illegal poaching claimed the lives of two elephants that were found shot and their tusks removed in Tanggamus regency in Lampung, just a few kilometers from the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. "The carcasses were left to rot and their tusks taken," said Andoyo, an environmentalist in Tanggamus, on Friday. It is thought the elephants were shot last week.

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Landmine maims 2 elephants

2005-10-12 - Lampang, Thailand.

Two young female elephants, aged six and two years, were admitted to Lampang Elephant Hospital yesterday morning, a week after triggering a landmine in Burma. The explosion on Oct 5 mutilated six year-old Mojay's right hind leg and Motoo's left front leg. At the time they were following their mother to haul logs in the Burmese forest opposite Tak's Tha Song Yang district, said Soraida Salwala, founder of Friends of the Asian Elephant, which runs the hospital. The mother was not injured.

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The Valentine"s Day Wedding Ceremony on Elephant-back Thai Elephant Conservation Center Hangchat, Lampang, Thailand

2005-01-26 - Lampang, Thailand.

The National Elephant Institute, patronage of Her Royal Highness princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, with the Forest Industry Organization, Lampang, in co-operation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Lanpang Tourism Association, presents the Valantine's Day Wedding Ceremony on Elephant-Back.

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24 years on Internet!

ELEPHANT NEWS was created on 2001 in Munich, and relaunched in Phnom Penh in 2020, with almost 8 000 links to news articles about elephants on the Internet. A number of articles now also have a cross reference to the elephant database, either for individuals elephants and/or to an article about the location holding