A recently released postcard book titled Nhung Nguoi Ban Lon (The GiantFriends) features 51 elephants that work with families living in theCentral Highlands province of Dac Lac.
A photograph,biography and the characteristics of each elephant cover a double pagecolour spread, along with the slogan: "Don't let elephants become amemory".
Photographer Le Van Thao said: "The portraits ofthe animals pull out as postcards so people can send them to relativesand friends. One person's love for elephants can be multiplied 51times."
Vietnam Green Trip – a project carried out by theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the Central Highlands –witnessed the suffering of elephants in Dac Lac. Since 1985, theirnumbers have fallen to 52 from 500. Most were killed for their bodyparts while many that are still alive are missing tails, tusks andhairs, the latter of which are sold as good luck charms.
Duong Trung Quoc, a key contributor to the book and editor-in-chief ofPast and Present magazine, said: "The slogan fits our ideas about thepast and the present. To us, elephants are an integral part of ourhistory. They have accompanied us in the process of protecting anddeveloping the country.
Other countries have elephantconservation programmes, but in Vietnam , they don't seem to beenforced," the National Assembly representative added.
"There is a paradox in Vietnam today that dead elephants are morefinancially valuable than live ones, which is why their numbers havedropped so much. Do we have any way of preventing them fromdisappearing? Losing the elephants would be like losing part of ournation's history. I will present the book and send the questions to theNational Assembly," historian Quoc said.
"Elephants arethe largest land animals on the planet. It is a shame that while mengrow, their ‘giant friends' are abandoned," he sighed./.
A photograph,biography and the characteristics of each elephant cover a double pagecolour spread, along with the slogan: "Don't let elephants become amemory".
Photographer Le Van Thao said: "The portraits ofthe animals pull out as postcards so people can send them to relativesand friends. One person's love for elephants can be multiplied 51times."
Vietnam Green Trip – a project carried out by theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the Central Highlands –witnessed the suffering of elephants in Dac Lac. Since 1985, theirnumbers have fallen to 52 from 500. Most were killed for their bodyparts while many that are still alive are missing tails, tusks andhairs, the latter of which are sold as good luck charms.
Duong Trung Quoc, a key contributor to the book and editor-in-chief ofPast and Present magazine, said: "The slogan fits our ideas about thepast and the present. To us, elephants are an integral part of ourhistory. They have accompanied us in the process of protecting anddeveloping the country.
Other countries have elephantconservation programmes, but in Vietnam , they don't seem to beenforced," the National Assembly representative added.
"There is a paradox in Vietnam today that dead elephants are morefinancially valuable than live ones, which is why their numbers havedropped so much. Do we have any way of preventing them fromdisappearing? Losing the elephants would be like losing part of ournation's history. I will present the book and send the questions to theNational Assembly," historian Quoc said.
"Elephants arethe largest land animals on the planet. It is a shame that while mengrow, their ‘giant friends' are abandoned," he sighed./.
