"breeding programs"

#4456194

3 June 2019

The Female Giant Panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) named Hu Chun at Taman Safari Indonesia, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, June 1, 2019. Indonesia, through Taman Safari Indonesia, gets a pair of pandas that officially arrived in Indonesia at the end of September 2017, is a loan program for breeding between the Government of Indonesia and China.

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#4456198

3 June 2019

The Female Giant Panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) named Hu Chun at Taman Safari Indonesia, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, June 1, 2019. Indonesia, through Taman Safari Indonesia, gets a pair of pandas that officially arrived in Indonesia at the end of September 2017, is a loan program for breeding between the Government of Indonesia and China.

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#4456200

3 June 2019

The Female Giant Panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) named Hu Chun at Taman Safari Indonesia, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, June 1, 2019. Indonesia, through Taman Safari Indonesia, gets a pair of pandas that officially arrived in Indonesia at the end of September 2017, is a loan program for breeding between the Government of Indonesia and China.

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#3581736

22 December 2018

Farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581738

22 December 2018

Farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581740

22 December 2018

Farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581742

22 December 2018

Farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581744

22 December 2018

Farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581748

22 December 2018

Women gather sugarcane on the farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581750

22 December 2018

Women gather sugarcane on the farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581752

22 December 2018

Women gather sugarcane on the farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581758

22 December 2018

Women gather sugarcane on the farm in the Elephant Conservation Center where elephant food is grown, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581760

22 December 2018

Elephants at the water hole in the Elephant Conservation Center, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581762

22 December 2018

Close-up of the elephant in the Elephant Conservation Center, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581764

22 December 2018

Mahouts (elephant keepers) lead elephants into the forest after watering in the Elephant Conservation Center, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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#3581766

22 December 2018

Forest restoration project in the Elephant Conservation Center, Sayaboury, Laos, in December 2018. Laos was known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ in the past, today the elephant population in the country stands at around 800 individuals. Half of them is made up of captive elephants, and their number is in decline; the owners are not interested in breeding animals (the cow needs at least four years out of work during her pregnancy and lactation), illegal trafficking to China and other neighboring countries continues. Against this backdrop, the Elephant Conservation Center is the only one organization in Laos who is interested in maintaining the population and breeding of elephants. They have the only elephant hospital and research laboratory in Laos. The Center was created in 2011, and now the team is protecting 29 elephants that had been working in the logging industry or mass tourism, and 530 hectares of forest around Nam Tien Lake in Sayaboury. ‘If we have extra money, we buy an elephant,’ says Anthony, the manager. The primary goal of the Center, besides conservation and breeding, is to reintroduce socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a natural forest where they can contribute to the increase of the wild population. For this reason, a special socialization programme has been developed by the biologists, where domesticated elephants learn to communicate and survive in the wild under the supervision of specialists. ‘There are not enough elephants in Laos,’ says Chrisantha, the biologist of the center. ‘We need around 5000 of a species to sustain a population, and we are nowhere near that. The efforts we are making now at least give a bit of hope for the future.’ (

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