Conservation efforts in Laos are leveraging DNA analysis of elephant dung to track and protect Asian elephants, aiming to secure a healthy genetic pool and craft an effective breeding plan to ensure the survival of the species. With numbers drastically reduced due to habitat destruction and poaching, the goal is to prevent the elephants from dying out completely.
SAINYABULI, Laos — Slow and silent, former logging elephant Mae Khoun Nung emerges from a forest in northern Laos and follows her guide to an animal hospital for a check-up.Once abundant in the forests of Laos , Asian elephants like her have been decimated by habitat destruction, gruelling labour in the logging industry, poaching and scarce breeding opportunities.
Elephants like her once roamed across much of Asia, but are now restricted to less than a fifth of their original range, according to WWF.Their numbers in the wild have fallen by about half since the early 1900s, with only 40,000 to 50,000 left, the organisation says.In the Nam Poui National Protected Area, researchers are now traversing the rugged hills and forests, collecting DNA from faecal samples of the area's 50 to 60 remaining wild elephants.
Elephants Conservation DNA Analysis Laos Endangered Species Genetic Diversity
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