Burma Captures Rare White Elephant

9 years ago | Posted in: World | 1085 Views

(NEWSER) – Burma’s forestry department has captured a rare white elephant in the jungles of the country’s western Ayeyarwaddy region, an official said today. The 7-year-old female was captured Friday, six weeks after she was initially spotted in a reserve in Pathein township, forestry official Tun Tun Oo said. It’s the ninth white elephant in captivity in the country. “We had to be careful,” Tun Tun Oo said of the 6-foot-3 elephant. “It’s wild. We didn’t want the elephant or the forestry department officials to get hurt.” Albino elephants have been revered for centuries in Burma, Thailand, Laos, and other Asian nations. Often pinkish in color, with fair eyelashes and toenails, the animals were normally kept and pampered by monarchs as symbols of royal power and prosperity—and many people still believe they bring good luck to the country.

Burma already has eight white elephants in captivity, most from the Ayeyarwaddy region. Five are in the zoo in the capital, Naypyitaw, and three are in Yangon’s zoo. It was not immediately clear where the recently captured elephant will be housed. Previous white elephants transported from Burma’s jungles have been heralded in lavish ceremonies in which military leaders sprinkle them with scented water laced with gold, silver, and precious gems. A war was fought in the 16th century between Thailand and Burma over disputed ownership of four white elephants. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are between 25,600 and 32,750 Asian elephants remaining in the wild. Only males carry tusks and are the exclusive victims of poaching for their ivory.

source: newser.com

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