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Monsoons rain on elephants’ Dac Lac parade

by Hong Van

HCM CITY — This year’s unusually long monsoon season has forced the transfer of elephants from Binh Thuan Province to Dac Lac to be postponed until the end of the year or later.

After 11 people had been killed by the herd of seven elephants, the Government gave the VND3.5 billion programme the go-ahead in June last year.

Commenting on the extension of the delay, "The weather forecast station in Binh Thuan Province has said the rain will not stop until the end of this year," said Nguyen Xuan Nhi, the director of the province’s Forest Protection Branch.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Forest Protection Department and Flora & Fauna International, who are organising the transfer, argued it is too dangerous to attempt to move the elephants in heavy rain.

The residents of Binh Thuan claim the elephants are becoming increasingly distressed and aggressive.

The elephants had previously only from the forest at night, but now they roam during the day as well.

The elephants are now so familiar with the sound of rifle shots that forest rangers have dug out large trenches to hide from the beasts.

Relentless human encroachment on their habitats, and a desperate search for water and salt, have caused the elephants to become increasingly aggressive.

Twenty people have been killed and hundreds of hectares of crops have been destroyed by elephants since May 1999.

Nhi said the increasing number of people who have migrated to the Ham Tan and Tanh Linh districts has also lead to more conflicts between people and elephants.

In Suoi Kiet and Gia Huynh communes alone, 341 households have settled and built 200 houses in the middle of the forest.

Unless the Government protects the forested areas in Dac Lac and prevents further migration there, the elephants will not be helped by the move, said Frank Momber, Flora & Fauna International’s Indochina Programme Manager.

"We have told the ministry to ensure the natural habitat of these elephants is maintained, otherwise the same problems will arise in Dac Lac Province," he told Viet Nam News.

Three years ago, the organisation attempted to establish a sanctuary for the elephants in Dong Nai Province, but they migrated to Binh Thuan Province in May 1999 because their forest habitat was rapidly being cleared.

"Forest coverage in Yok Don National Park in Dac Lac Province is still relatively good at the moment, but the provincial People’s Committee should not allow people to cut down forest for economic development and to turn the land into agricultural fields," Momber said.

The Forest Protection Department has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the elephants.

In response to suggestions that the herd should simply be killed, the department’s Deputy Director, Nguyen Van Cuong, said Viet Nam would never allow people to shoot elephants. — VNS

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