Rare white elephant spotted in western jungles of Burma

A rare, white elephant has been found in the jungles of the western Ayeyarwaddy region in Burma.

A seven-year-old female elephant was captured by the forestry department on Friday, six weeks after it was first spotted in a reserve in Pathein township.

“We had to be careful. It’s wild. We didn’t want the elephant or the forestry department officials to get hurt,” forestry official Tun Tun Oo said.

For centuries, the white elephants have been revered in Burma, Laos, Thailand and other Asian nations.

Currently, Burma has eight rare white elephants in captivity. Most of them are from the Ayeyarwaddy region. Five of them are currently in the zoo of Naypyitaw, while three others are in Rangoon.

There are between 25,600 and 32,750 Asian elephants left in the wild category, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Only the male elephants carry tusks and therefore, are the main victims of poaching as their ivory is very precious.

According to the animal experts, the rampant capturing of wild elephants for domestication purpose has become a serious threat to wild populations.

The countries like Burma, India and Vietnam have banned the capturing of animals in a bid for conservation of their wild herds. However, these rare elephants are still caught each year in Burma for the illegal wildlife trade or the timber industry.