Tuesday, May 15, 2018

First ‘private elephant lake’ opens in Bago



By HEIN KO SOE | FRONTIER

KYAUKTAGA, BAGO REGION - Two animal rights NGOs have teamed up with the Myanmar government to open the first “private elephant lake” in the country, in Bago Region, about 170 kilometres (83 miles) from Yangon.

Elephant Lake, located at the Yenwe Forest Reserve in Kyauktaga Township is a collaboration between organisation Mingalar Myanmar, international animal charity Four Paws International, and the government’s Forestry Department, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

Initially located on 20 hectares (50 acres) of land owned by the forestry department, it will initially house six elephants, but eventually plans to welcome 3,000 elephants on 17,000 hectares of land, making it the largest such sanctuary in Southeast Asia, said U Kyaw Htaik, deputy general manager of Myanmar Timber Enterprise. All of the elephants at the site will be former loggers from MTE.

The centre, which the organisers say will open later this year, includes a medical treatment facility, and housing for the elephants, including permanent housing for retired elephants, and rehabilitation facilities for those they hope to re-introduce into the wild. Organisers also plan to spend between $4 million and $5 million to develop the project, including building ecotourism facilities on-site.


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