Two wild adult elephants, one male and one female, that were found dead in Yok Don National Park in Dak Lak Province last Saturday may be kept as specimens, as proposed by a Hanoi-based animal museum, said Hoang Van Xuan, the park’s deputy director.

>> 3 wild elephants die within week in Dak Lak>> 5 wild elephants killed in 7 yrs in Quang Nam: report In accordance with applicable regulations, the bodies of the animals were set to be destroyed, but this may not happen since the museum has asked the park to transfer the bodies to it so they can be kept as specimens, Xuan said. When the park’s forest patrollers discovered the elephants in subzone 257 on August 25, the bodies were had already begun to decompose, said Tran Van Thanh, acting director of the park. A part of the male’s proboscis and some facial bones had been removed from its body, Thanh said. After examining the scene, concerned agencies concluded that the animals had been killed for their tusks, and the killings might have been carried out the previous week. The dead animals belonged to a herd of 29 wild elephants that has appeared in the park from time to time. The park is coordinating with police from Buon Don and Ea Sup districts in investigating the deaths. Since the beginning of this year, six wild elephants have been killed in this Central Highlands province by poachers, further decreasing the local elephant population, authorities reported. In April alone, three wild elephants were killed in Ea Sup District and many parts of their bodies, including their tusks, were taken away, authorities said.