Elephant found dead in rubber forest

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, a forest ranger discovered an elephant carcass decomposing in a Thanh Chuong District stream.

The elephant was identified as an adult male, having lived for nearly 30 years with intact tusks nearly 40 cm long.

Officials of the Thanh Chuong District Forest Ranger Department said that through inspection, the possibility of the elephant being hunted was ruled out because the tusks were not stolen.

They suspected the elephant died due to illness, old age or natural disasters because heavy rain and floods recently occurred in the area.

District authorities sent a team including forest rangers, police, and the army to protect the scene overnight.

In February, locals also discovered an old elephant dead in a natural forest in Quy Chau mountainous district of Nghe An.

Nghe An has more than 13 wild elephants, the third highest in the country after Dak Lak and Dong Nai.