LAOS: Mandalao Elephant Conservation and Vantara, a global wildlife conservation organisation based in Gujarat, India, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen elephant welfare, veterinary care and conservation efforts in Laos.
As part of the partnership, an Elephant Rapid Response Team was inaugurated at Mandalao Elephant Conservation in Luang Prabang in the presence of Lao Government representatives. Vantara has provided a fully equipped mobile elephant veterinary unit to enable the team to respond to sick and injured elephants across Laos, covering both wild and captive populations.
The collaboration will also establish a specialised elephant hospital to provide emergency treatment, long-term care and rehabilitation.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over Laos’ declining elephant population. Once known as Lan Xang, or the “Land of a Million Elephants”, Laos is now estimated to have around 400 wild elephants and more than 400 elephants in captivity. Wild elephants face habitat loss, fragmentation, human-elephant conflict and poaching, while many captive elephants continue to be involved in logging and tourism with limited access to specialised veterinary care.
The programme also coincides with the rescue of Mae Khamnoy, a 43-year-old female elephant who spent her life working in logging operations. According to the organisations, she lost two calves during pregnancy and was later kept alone beside a busy road in Vientiane, where she was ridden by tourists and made to perform tricks.
Mae Khamnoy will now be relocated to Mandalao Elephant Conservation, where she will receive veterinary care, a natural and balanced diet and the opportunity to live alongside other elephants.
Alongside the launch, veterinary teams from Vantara and Mandalao conducted a health camp for 12 resident elephants, involving comprehensive health assessments, diagnostics and specialist consultations.
The partnership will also focus on building local capacity through training for elephant caregivers and veterinarians in welfare, husbandry, nutrition and preventive healthcare.
Dr Tim Bouts, Elephant Veterinary Specialist at Mandalao Elephant Conservation, said the establishment of the Elephant Response Team represented a major step forward for elephant welfare and veterinary care in Laos. He said the service would be offered free of charge to elephant owners and government departments responsible for elephants across the country.
The partnership will extend beyond elephants in human care, with Vantara and Mandalao planning long-term, field-based conservation solutions aimed at supporting the recovery of Laos’ wild elephant population and protecting its genetic diversity.
The planned work will include population recovery, habitat stewardship, community engagement and measures to reduce human-elephant conflict and poaching, in coordination with Lao authorities, local communities and conservation partners.
Ajit Kulkarni, Special Director, Compliance and Due Diligence, Vantara, said the organisation was pleased to partner with Mandalao to support Laos’ elephants within Laos itself. He said the collaboration would combine veterinary care, investment in local expertise and conservation efforts in the wild.
The partnership brings together Mandalao’s experience in Laos with Vantara’s veterinary, technical and conservation expertise, with the shared objective of strengthening the country’s long-term capacity to care for and conserve its elephant population.
