The elephants cannot run but we run to protect them!

The elephant festival in Sayaboury is now over and it’s time to give you some very good news!

The 1st day of the festival, the 23rd of February, the government has officialised the elephant release in the national protected area of Nam Pouy after a BACI ceremony. We are proud that the government of Sayaboury has announced this historical event. 4 females with 1 calve will walk back to the jungle. This is going to be a soft release and our team of mahouts, biologists, conservationists accompanied by some soldiers and members of the government will monitor the behavior of the herd on a daily basis. A new step has been taken in our conservation work! Stay tuned to know more about the evolution of this project!

Furthermore, the last day of the festival, we suggested two new activities aiming to act and educate. As an action, we held a race. Elephants, due to their size, are incapable of running which is why we created the slogan “Elephants can’t Run, but we run to protect them”. There was a procession of elephants walking, with a group of people following behind. Although the elephants cannot run, they are the winners at the end as we raise awareness for their cause. At the end of the race, there were two donation boxes. One was for medicine, to help the elephants at the festival and another for food. This contributed to the educational activity “Eat Like An Elephant”.

At the Eat Like an Elephant activity, there were two tables facing each other, one for the humans and one for the elephants. We all sat down facing each other and have seen that we were capable of eating the same food. This was a very light-hearted event, intended to be entertaining and educational on how diverse an elephants’ diet is. Of course, we eat much less than an elephant, but we can all learn and enjoy sharing a meal together!