Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network
September 14, 2000
By Andrea Pawlyna

Trinh Viet Cuong is in a desperate race against time to do what he can to save Vietnam’s wild elephants from extinction. Only about 100 of the animals still roam freely in Vietnam, down from as many as 1,500 to 2,000 a decade ago.

Their population decimated by poaching and their habitat reduced by widespread deforestation and development, the elephants have been squeezed on all sides.

Cuong, a zoologist on the staff of Vietnam’s Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and one of the country’s foremost elephant experts, has meticulously compiled valuable census data about the elusive mammals for the past eight years.

Trinh Viet Cuong, an elephant biologist for Flora & Fauna International, is a man on a mission: to save the wild elephants of Vietnam.

Elephants are never far from his mind, and rarely are they out of his sight. At home in Hanoi, he watches documentaries about them. In the field, he tracks the lumbering giants through the forest. “Elephants are very special,” says the slight, soft-spoken 38-year-old. “I feel a real closeness to them.”

Cuong marvels at their intelligence and their strength, but their protectiveness toward one other is what touches his heart. “If one elephant is injured, the others do not leave. They surround [the individual] and try to care for it,” he says.

Vietnam’s wild elephants are scattered in 17 locations throughout the country, mostly in the central and southern provinces. For four to six months a year, Cuong braves malaria, leeches and often oppressive heat to undertake his surveys.

So scarce are the creatures that the last time Cuong laid eyes on one was three years ago. “Only if you are lucky do you get to see one,” he laments. But the evidence is there—footprints, dung piles and sightings by villagers and forest rangers.

Cuong’s dedication to his work has drawn praise from many conservation groups. “I think he’s one of the best ... his data is absolutely reliable,” asserts Frank Momberg, Indochina program director for British-based Flora & Fauna International, where Cuong occasionally works on elephant-related projects.

Though protected by law from poachers, Vietnam's wild elephants continue to face an uphill battle for survival. Shortages of food and space have put the elephants on a collision course with encroaching humans. FFI estimates that elephants have killed an estimated 26 people in Vietnam since 1992. As many as 17 elephants may have perished in revenge killings over a similar period.

Worse, villagers who try to frighten the elephants away with fire, noise or other means have succeeded only in making them more aggressive — and more likely to view humans as enemies.“Before, elephants were not dangerous,” Cuong says, recalling days when he could get close enough to take snapshots, “but now they are very dangerous.”During visits to villages, he takes pains to educate residents about the risks. “I try to explain that people shouldn’t sleep in huts in areas where there is conflict with elephants,” he says. “They should also avoid herds with baby elephants, because the mothers will protect them.”Serious concerns about potential inbreeding have further clouded the future of these elephants. More than 50 percent of their herds are composed of fewer than five individuals. Poachers have doomed certain herds by killing the males for their valuable tusks.

Like many environmentalists, Cuong believes that sanctuaries and conservation areas could be a viable solution to the elephants’ plight in the long term.“The top priority for the next 10 years is to provide protection for a big herd. Protection should be concentrated in one area,” he says.

The Vietnamese government and international conservation groups are working cooperatively toward that goal. Park officials have tentative plans to relocate several elephants to Yok Don National Park in the central province of Dak Lak. But government funding and outside contributions in the neighborhood of $750,000 to $850,000 is needed to sustain the project for at least five years.

Vietnam’s elephants represent the easternmost periphery of the Asian elephants' domain. Cuong refuses to give up hope of saving the endangered species despite their precarious status. “First, we want them to survive and live in a good environment,” he says earnestly. “After that, then we hope to increase their numbers.” Error: Unable to read footer file.