A three-year-old elephant was found dead on Thursday in a local residents mango orchard 100m from the edge of the Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve in southern Dong Nai Province.
A three-year-old elephant was found dead on Thursday in a local residents mango orchard 100m from the edge of the Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve in southern Dong Nai Province.
 |
But they did not say if the cause of death had been identified. Experts suspect that pesticide sprayed on the fruit might have poisoned the elephant.
Pesticides sprayed on plants and trees that are potential food for elephants have been a matter of recent concern.
During a forum on biodiversity held at the Sai Gon Zoo last week, Dr Vu Ngoc Long, deputy director of the Institute of Tropical Biology, had hailed the work done by national parks on avoiding pesticide contamination of mangoes and other food sources of the elephants.
Long told that it would be very regrettable if the dead elephant happened to be one of a seven-member elephant family living in the reserve. A picture of the elephant family had won the third prize at a recent picture contest on the topic of biodiversity held by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
According to the Dong Nai Forest Protection Division, seven elephants have been found dead in the province over the last twelve months.
(Source:VNS)
