A newborn wild elephant was recently photographed in Vietnam, a promising development in the Southeast Asian country’s efforts to protect its wildlife.
Mai Van Duong, director of the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area in Da Nang city, has confirmed that the baby elephant was captured in images from camera traps set up in a protected forest, VietNamNet reported.
Duong said that signs of a newborn elephant were first reported earlier this year by local patrol teams.
In response, 30 camera traps were deployed across 15 known elephant paths, though initial attempts yielded no images.
The team later relocated the cameras to more strategic spots.
Between July 20 and 23, efforts paid off – photos revealed a young elephant walking alongside its mother.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Early Atlantic seaway opening linked to ancient global warming, study finds
A “heartwarming reward”
“The sight of the calf playfully following its mother was a heartwarming reward for our relentless forest protection efforts,” Duong said.
He emphasized that the sighting indicates natural reproduction within the herd of wild Asian elephants in the reserve.
“This signals that our conservation strategy is on the right track and contributes to the protection of the endangered Asian elephant,” Duong said.
A similar discovery was made in 2020, when a one-year-old elephant calf was recorded through the Green Annamites Project, which was supported by the United States Agency for International Development.
The current herd now includes mature males, females, and young elephants, reflecting a stable social structure.
Vietnam sets bold biodiversity goals
Vietnam ranks 16th in the world for biodiversity, with over 62,600 recorded species, including many endemic ones found nowhere else.
In recent years, its government has introduced key legislations such as the Law on Biodiversity and national resource management strategies, providing a strong legal foundation for conservation efforts.
Numerous nature reserves and national parks have been created or expanded to protect critical habitats and endangered species.
Reforestation, coral reef preservation, and wildlife conservation programs are also underway.
To fulfill its National Biodiversity Strategy, Vietnam aims to increase protected land to at least 9% and marine areas to 5%, restore at least 20% of degraded ecosystems, prevent any human-induced species extinctions, and preserve at least 100,000 genetic resources.
READ NEXT: Giant stick insect discovered in Australia
Shameeka Voyiya 
Lucia Caporalini 
Kamille Q. Cabreza