The most reliable estimates of the national elephant population suggest there are ~6500 elephants remaining in total. Of this population, over half (3500-4000) of the remaining elephants are raised in captivity, mainly in the tourism and forestry sectors. Conservative estimates suggest that there are only 1300-1700 wild elephants remaining in protected areas. More generous estimates propose a range of 2100-3000 wild elephants throughout the entire country. Recently, the Department of Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced that the wild elephant population in some protected areas in Thailand is increasing at a rate of 7% per year, suggesting that there are viable habitats to support more wild elephants.

We believe as many elephants as possible should return to the forest. To date, there have only been two well-documented cases of successful reintroduction in Asia. The Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand has released over 100 elephants since they began their project in 1996. By all accounts, the project has been very successful: the cows have organized themselves into herds and many have mated with wild bulls and reproduced. Interestingly, these herds seem to have formed based not on inter-relatedness, but by the presence of a calf. Genetic diversity remained high after 20 years of monitoring, which suggests low occurrences of inbreeding and adequate genetic diversity for long-term success. The protected areas where these elephants were released –  Sublanka and Doi Pha Muang – are large and well-protected, and human-elephant conflict in these areas remains minimal compared to other areas further south. The demonstrated success of this project should encourage other organizations to follow suit before the wild Asian elephant has been extirpated from Thailand entirely.

This work will not be easy and it will require cooperation from many different stakeholders. CNF wants to replant trees and reforest areas that can sustain large wild elephant herds and reduce human-elephant conflict.