An Unspeakable Crisis -- Vietnam's Elephants are Critically Endangered

There are fewer than 70 elephants remaining in the wild in Vietnam, compared with about 500 in the early 1980s and 1,500 to 2,000 in 1975.

Elephants suffered first at the hands of ivory poachers and hunters, then from encroachment by farmers and loggers.

Conservation Groups have urged Vietnam to take "all measures" to prevent further destruction of the elephants' forest habitats in Southern and Central Vietnam.

In Vietnam, one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies after China, wild elephants numbered 81 in 2004, one estimate says. Vietnam’s elephant population has declined dramatically, falling from a maximum estimated population of 2,000 animals in 1980 to just 114 in 2000. 

Wild Elephants used to roam throughout much of southern and central Vietnam . 

In the Vietnam War the animals were sometimes pressed into service as porters and used to pack supplies. Elephants became bombing targets for U.S. planes. By the time the war ended the number of elephants in Vietnam had been dramatically reduced.

There have been many reports of elephants rampaging in villages in Vietnam, causing considerable damage. One conservationist told the New York Times, "It is a sure sign that elephants are becoming confused, disoriented and desperate because of the logging and other human activity that's cutting into their ranges." 

Credits : Facts and Details on Vietnam's Elephants