A forest ranger discovered the decomposed carcass of an adult elephant in a forest of Ha Tinh Province in north-central Vietnam on Tuesday afternoon.

A representative of the forest patrol and protection team in Huong Son District in the province confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday night that officials were clarifying the cause of the elephant’s death.

The ranger found the elephant dead in the forest managed by Huong Son Service and Forestry Company at 3:00 pm on Tuesday.

The site of the elephant death lies on a path on which three or four elephants often wander, and is far from residential areas.

In another development, the People’s Committee of Quy Hop District under Nghe An Province in the north-central region has written to relevant ministries and departments seeking solutions to protect the last elephant in the district.

Over the past few months, the elephant has constantly come to residents’ houses to search for food, sparking concerns among the locals.

Vi Van Kien, 37, and his family members, who live in Tang Mountainous Village in Nam Son Commune under Quy Hop District, were sleeping at midnight on July 11 when the elephant came and woke them up with loud sounds.

This was the third time that the elephant had visited his house for food.

Apart from looking for food in his house, the unexpected visitor trampled a corner of his concrete yard, said Kien.

The elephant is the only one left in Quy Hop District. It has lived alone for some 20 years.

Over the past few years, the elephant has often visited locals’ houses in Bac Son and Nam Son Communes.

The Quy Hop administration has proposed evacuating the elephant to Pu Mat National Park, which has more space and houses many wild animals.

The national park is already home to 15 elephants.

On February 16, a local found an elephant dead in a forest in Chau Phong Commune in Nghe An Province’s Quy Chau District.

Its death was associated with the scarcity of food.

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