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Airavata is a nonprofit organisation founded by Chenda Clais, Professor François-Xavier Roux and
Presently, Airavata Foundation owns four elephants, two bulls; Bokva, Kamsen, the female Ikeo and her female baby Noelle, which are the last four captive elephants in the Ratanakiri Province. All three of the elephants are from the community forest in Ratanakiri. Airavatas elephants have since April 2019 been trained and the mahout staff coached, by the Swede
Domesticated elephant dies in Ratanakiri sanctuary
/ref>
Airavata Elephant Foundation
Organisations based in Cambodia Elephant conservation organizations Foundations based in Cambodia
Airavata is a nonprofit organisation founded by Chenda Clais, Professor François-Xavier Roux and Pierre-Yves Clais Pierre-Yves is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Pierre-Yves André (born 1974), retired French footballer
*Pierre-Yves Barré (1749–1832), French vaudevillist and songwriter
*Pierre-Yves Bény (born 1983), French gymnast
* Pie ...
, protecting the last captive Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
s in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, as well as protecting up to 100 hectares of the Katieng forest along the river close to the Katieng Waterfalls 10 Kilometer west from the Ratanakiri capitol, Banlung
Banlung ( km, បានលុង, ) is the capital of Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia, and is 636 kilometres from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Ratanakiri Province borders Vietnam and Laos.Ray, Nick. ''Cambodia' ...
.
Captive elephants in Cambodia
Wars, and the time during which Cambodia was ruled by theKhmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
reduced the population of Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
s elephants, both in the wild as well as in captivity. Cambodia is presently home to less than 100 captive Asian elephants
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
, most of them being cared for by private owners in Mondulkiri Province.
Airavata elephants
Presently, Airavata Foundation owns four elephants, two bulls; Bokva, Kamsen, the female Ikeo and her female baby Noelle, which are the last four captive elephants in the Ratanakiri Province. All three of the elephants are from the community forest in Ratanakiri. Airavatas elephants have since April 2019 been trained and the mahout staff coached, by the Swede Dan Koehl
Dan Albert John Koehl (born 28 October 1959) is a French-Swedish zookeeper, elephant trainer, and stablemaster.
An author of the ''Elephant Encyclopedia'', he has been described as "one of Europe's most renowned experts on elephants".
Early yea ...
.
Bakmai's second chance
The elephant bull Bak Mai killed its previous mahout and owner in Mondulkiri in September 2016, after which Airavata bought the then-32-year-old bull to rehabilitate it and integrate it with their other elephants, but unfortunately died in May 2020, under mysterious circumstances, including unusual diarrhoea when he was taken in the morning to the nearby river for drinking. He collapsed and could not get up, and died, still lying on the side, apr 16 hours later./ref>
Breeding
Cambodia had not experienced any captive born elephant in over 30 years, when the 38 year old Ikeo gave birth to a female elephant calf on December 26, 2021. The elephant baby was named Noelle.Activities
Concentrating on the surviving captive population of Asian elephants in Cambodia, the foundation, recently set under the high patronage of KingNorodom Sihamoni
Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihano ...
of Cambodia, offer guests a number of activities in Katieng forest, including trekking, elephant riding and an educational program.
References
{{ReflistExternal links
Airavata Elephant Foundation
Organisations based in Cambodia Elephant conservation organizations Foundations based in Cambodia