Mahouts bring in a pair of elephants to put
on display during the announcement.
Patcharapol Panrak
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is helping restore
Thailand’s wild elephant population by allowing 4 female elephants to be
brought to Nong Nooch to be bred with its male elephant population. The
4 female elephants had been kept at Nong Nooch’s Elephant Reintroduction
Foundation, which is working to release 81 elephants into nature.
On April 11, Nong Nooch Director Kampol Tansatcha and
Sattahip District Chief Chaichan Iamcharoen announced their intent to
allow the foundation to breed the elephants for release.
Director Sumet Tantiwetchakul said the organization
was founded in 2007 in response to Her Majesty the Queen’s vision for
Thai Elephant preservation, and to mark HM the King’s 80th birthday.
The goal is to provide 81 elephants to present to Her
Majesty the Queen to return to the wild.
Nong Nooch’s 33-year-old Bird and 17-year-old
Nongnong will play a big part of that, being the main sperm donors to
the project.
Elephant cows average only 1 calf every four years
and each pregnancy runs 22 months.
Nong Nooch currently has 41 elephants in its stables,
36 of which are female. Of those, five are pregnant.
Park officials said they were proud to be part of such a noble effort
to restore the wild elephant population.
